Meeting Edward Cullen at the Olympics
by lenny85
Summary: Bella Swan gets a job working at the Olympics. She then meets the elusive and sexy Edward Cullen. Will romance bloom? Will Edward win gold? For Michael Phelps lovers! Enjoy! R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**See, this is what happens when my obsessions with Michael Phelps and Edward Cullen reaches its breaking point. We get this. **

**(And, yes, there will be _much_ more EdwardXBella in the next chapters) :**

"Alright, that all sounds good. Thank you very much, sir," I said to the middle age balding man sitting across the wooden desk from me. His office was a comfortable size, but the white walls and lack of furnishings made it a place that no one would not want to spend excessive amounts of time. I got up from the hard chair I was sitting in and exited the room out into a long hallway that I had first walked through some twenty minutes ago.

And, let me tell you, I was so glad to be able to come to Mr. Turner's office today. This meant that I now had a job. Granted, it was only for a little under three weeks, but I was desperate for anything at this point. And, plus, they paid very well. I felt like I had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, knowing that I would have some cash to get me through the next few months.

When I saw the ad in the Washington Post about two weeks ago, I knew that I would have to go seek out this Mr. Turner for an interview. The ad was placed by the International Olympic Committee. They were looking for local D.C. residents to help out during the Games. I would have never imagined it myself. Our nation's capital hosting the Olympic Summer Games. When a friend of mine first told me the news, the first thing I thought was, "Where are they going to build the stadium?" I had no idea how they did it, how they fit it into our small, populous city. Or where all the millions of dollars were coming from that were needed to host such an event.

But, that is beside the point. With the Opening Ceremony just one short week away, thousands upon thousands of people were making there way here to our history filled city. I wasn't sure exactly what my job was going to be until I met with Mr. Turner. But, it seemed to be simple enough. I was simply support staff, a handler of sorts. I had to make sure athletes knew where they were going, got there on time, and make sure no one got lost along the way. With several buildings and stadiums being used for all the events, it can be easy to get lost in an unfamiliar city (or country for that matter).

Tomorrow I was to be contacted and told where to show up on my first day (which would be a few days before the Opening Ceremony). Mr. Turner said I would probably be stationed at one athletic building for the entirety of the competition. Just assisting athletes and the public with anything they might need. I certainly was looking forward to this job, seeing all the famous athletes I had seen so many times on T.V. Yes, I know it is a bit childish, but really, like you wouldn't be doing the same thing.

And, one of the best things about this job was the hotel room I was being provided for the length of the competition. The IOC wanted all of their staff together, and since competition started very early and went late, it was extremely convenient not to have to commute. I still could not believe how lucky I got. A nice hotel room for a few weeks and a great salary! My home town was pulling out all the stops for this; they wanted to look great while the entire world was watching.

Little did I know, my job started the next day. When I was contacted the next morning, I was told that I needed to pack some things and report to the hotel by that afternoon. I was unnaturally excited about starting this job, so I hopped out of bed and grabbed a suitcase. I threw everything I could in there, not that there was much to throw, my wardrobe was fairly limited. Being in college is not the best for one's financial needs (a.k.a. clothing).

When I arrived at the Marriott, the city's largest hotel, I was greeted by a large sign reading: "IOC workers to 5th floor meeting room." As I passed through the lobby to make my way to the elevators, I was struck by the immense scale of the hotel. The lobby was huge, with high ceilings, and a gleaming tile floor that I swear I could see my reflection in. There were numerous little alcoves with chairs and couches and flowers everywhere. I probably looked like an idiot stumbling around the lobby trying to take everything in. But, something suddenly clicked in my mind, I didn't want to be late for my first day.

As I was walking towards the back of the lobby to reach the elevators, that is when I first saw _him_. He had just gotten off of one of the many elevators and was walking across the lobby. And by _him_ I mean World Champion American swimmer Edward Cullen. I knew him well. Well, I had seem him on T.V. many times, I think the entire world knew who he was. He's tall, well over six feet of pure muscle and perfection. Really, he seemed to be perfect (at least to me). His reddish-brown hair was beautiful, and going in all directions. He had to keep running his fingers through it to keep it out of his face, which drew even more attention to it. Even in his baggy pants and jacket (that looked like they were for running or working out) you could tell how well build he was. They say he was born to be a swimmer, built for it. His broad shoulders and perfectly muscled chest and arms made me wonder why he ever bothered to put a shirt on.

As he walked past me our eyes met for just a second or two. His soft green eyes and my bland brown eyes. Everything about him seemed so tough. That is why I found it so odd that is eyes would be so soft and kind. It threw me off for a second. He had walked past me in a blink of an eye, and I continued toward the elevators. If this job was just going to be hanging around with people like him for a few weeks, I was not complaining.

I made my way down the 5th floor hallway, and I found the meeting room with ease. It was a very large circular room, with about a dozen tables that seemed to be mostly filled at this point. I slowly made my way around to the other side to where there were a few tables that still had a few open seats. I sat down at one and looked around the spacious room. Most of the people seemed to be around my age, maybe a bit older. That comforted me a bit; knowing that I would have people my age to get to know. I only saw a few older people, who seemed to be in their forties and fifties.

We were briefed on our job again, but I had already heard most of this from Mr. Turner. Everyone was given a large packet filled with everything we were to know. I was going to have a _ton_ of fun memorizing all of this information tonight. And, as I was sitting there listening to some old guy go on and on about how we had to set a good example to the world, my thoughts traveled back to Edward Cullen. The elusive Edward. No one really knew much about him; they just knew he was incredibly good looking and could make any girls heart melt (including my own...which had already happened).

He kept his life a total secret; and who can blame him? With photographers and video cameras following him every where he went, he didn't need them butting into his personal life. But, of course, there had to be one right? I mean, with a body like that, I'm sure he was having no trouble in the dating department.

As I was snuggling into my large king bed that night, I wondered if I were going to run into Edward again. The odds were in my favor, we were staying in the same hotel and I would be out and about in the city. Ugh, what am I thinking? Like this god of a man would ever look twice at me. And, as I slept that night, I dreamed of maybe, just maybe seeing Edward again. Little did I know then, I would.

I had no trouble picking out what I would be wearing my first day on the job. The wonderful people at the IOC had provided all of us with a uniform. It really wasn't that bad; they could have done much worse. After I finished getting dressed I studied myself in the mirror. My assigned uniform consisted of comfortable, knee length navy shorts with lots of pockets, and a white polo shirt with the Olympic rings stitched on in the corner. Everyone (athletes, coaches, and staff like me) had been issued I.D.'s that we were to were at all times. They were quite large and there was a horrible picture of me plastered on the front. I swung mine around my neck.

I pulled my long hair up into a ponytail, grabbed my bag and the packet they had given me yesterday and bounded out the door.

I was on my way to the building where all of the swimming and diving competitions were taking place. That is where I would be for the next couple of weeks. Let me tell you, not a bad place to work. Was I being a bit weird about this whole hot swimmers thing? I can't help my self; have you seen these guys? You know how some people swoon over models? Well, I swoon over swimmers (specifically Edward Cullen).

The elevator arrived and I walked on. My room was on one of the very top floors, so I was surprised when I saw that there was already someone in the elevator. And, yes, that's right. It was Edward Cullen. Just him being so close to me made me blush. I felt like I was back in high school with a silly little crush.

He was in jeans today and a dark blue button down shirt. How silly I felt in my uniform next to him. Well, not really next to him. We were on opposite sides of the very large elevator. I saw that he had already pressed the button for the Lobby, which was where I was headed as well. The elevator very slowly (in my opinion at least) started to make its descent. I was suddenly pulled out of my own thoughts when he spoke.

"So, what sport are you?" he said softly. Was he insane? He honestly thought I, Bella Swan, played a sport. At an Olympic level no less. I don't even think they trusted me enough to keep score in high school. I turned to him. His eyebrows were raised, expectant of my answer. He looked extremely at ease, leaning up against the side of the elevator. I would not be surprised at all if a photographer jumped out of no where, snapped his picture, and then slapped it on the cover of GQ or People.

"Ahhh, no sport. I work for the IOC. Just helping out," I managed to get out. He tilted his head up, as if he was coming to grips of what I just said.

"Well, Miss No Sport, I guess you can tell me where the athletes breakfast is," he said with humor in his voice and a smile on his face. I realized that I hadn't seen him smile before. Before competition, everyone was always very serious. His smile was beautiful (of course) as he showed off his perfect white teeth. He was asking me...oh...ummm.

"It's on the fifth floor," I said with confidence in my voice. It looked like all those hours of memorizing information last night paid off! I can't imagine what I would do if I didn't know where the breakfast was...

We had arrived at the lobby and I glanced back at Edward as I got off the elevator. He was grinning at me, which threw me off for a second or two. And, _why_ would he be doing that? I just smiled back.

"Wait! I don't know your name!" I spun around as fast as my body could manage. His whole face had lit up. I gave him a small smile.

"It's Bella. Bella Swan."

"Well, thank you very much for your help, Miss Swan. I hope we run into each other again," he said bowing a bit to me. I laughed at his old fashioned gesture. He gave me one last mind-blowing smile before the elevator doors closed between us.

And, with that, my whole body melted into a pile on shiny tile floor.

**Check out my other two stories, Seeing Him Again and Not Like in the Movies!**

**For the love of Carlisle, review!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, after reading a few reviews I got, I have decided that this will be longer that three parts. I just had so much fun writing this!! A big thanks to: RoGueSurfer, just-off-the-key-of-reason, ilistentomymuse, distorted realities, Karren1109, and Jordan for reviewing the last chapter!! This chapter is for you guys!**

So, after I picked my self off the floor, I headed through the lobby and out onto the extremely bust street, my thoughts still with Edward and out brief encounter. Did he really mean it? Was he really looking forward to seeing me again? Figures, he's a charmer. He probably does that to every women under twenty five that he comes across.

I only had three block to walk down to the aquatic building. And, luckily, it was on this side, so I didn't have to risk death drying to cross the street. It was surprising seeing so many athletes in the city already. It seems like most of the people I passed had on huge I.D.'s just like mine. I guess with people coming in from all over the world, they wanted time to recover from their jet lag before their competition.

It only took me a few minutes to reach my destination. I swung open the large and quite heavy glass door and made my way inside. I was instantly hit with the foul (at least to me) smell of chlorine. I knew I was in the right place. The concrete floor was soaked of course, so I walked slowly, trying to avoid a fall.

Today was going to be nothing special. All I had to do was make sure that the guys who were coming in to set up knew what they were doing. I just had to hang around here in case they had any questions. Joy. There was a swimmer or two in the water. Probably getting a feel for the place before it counted for good.

I took a seat in the up in the stands. I had plenty to choose from; I think this particular building could hold 20,000 people. There were a few other staff like me around; answering peoples questions and what not, so I didn't feel to bad about just sitting here. I tried to tune out the hustle and bustle of people below me by absentmindedly doodling on one of the many papers that sat in my lap.

And, I actually thought I would enjoy this job. I was getting bored out of mind after only twenty minutes. Then, out of the corner of eye, I saw a familiar figure enter from the same door that I had come in. Seriously, I felt like a stalker.

I hope that he didn't notice. He had changed since I saw him last; out of his jeans and into an outfit much like yesterdays, when I first saw him. My eyes were glued to him as he made his way over to the edge of the pool stripping off his clothes along the way. His beautiful hair was covered up with a cap, and he had on his usual Speedo that he wore during competition. This was going to be good. As soon as I saw those strong, muscular arms of his I lost it. Just thinking about what it would be like to have his arms around me...

I was suddenly pulled out of my daydreaming when I heard a large splash. He had dived in, and was making his way across the pool, using his stroke of choice, freestyle. My head went back and worth with him across the pool. It was just so amazing to watch someone who is the best in the world at what they do right in front of your eyes. He was truly mesmerizing.

After a few more incredibly graceful laps, he got out of the water (angels start to sing) and started to dry himself off. Well, that certainly was some entertainment for the day. I did feel a bit bad though, spying on him while he was trying to practice. He exited out of a side door, near the locker rooms, and I went back to my doodling.

I don't now how long it was before I heard him speak.

"I saw you watching me." I whipped my head around for the second time that day. I probably going to pull a muscle one of these days because of this guy (god, which ever you prefer). He was smiling again, and standing about two rows above me.

"What...how did you...you were..." I stammered turning back to the pool. Gosh, could I make a bigger fool out of myself? Yes, I could. But, I didn't want to think about that now. I turned back to him, noticing that he was back in the clothes that he arrived in. He took a few steps down and sat down right next to me. And, I mean _right _next to me. Like legs touching close. He ignored my stammering.

"It really was quite distracting. I saw up here watching me, since I walked in actually." There was a small smile on his face, he must have know how embarrassing this was for me.

"You must be used to it by now," I said in my defense. His smile grew bigger.

"Oh, yes. It's fine. I didn't mean to embarrass you," he replied.

"It's ok. You didn't," I said trying to convince him...and maybe myself at the same time. He laughed quietly to himself.

"Ok..." he said, skeptical of what I had just said. That's fine. If he wanted to act like that. Two can play this game. I looked out onto the great venue, absentmindedly watching the still water.

"You know I don't think it's fair." I said throwing a quick glance at him, to see his reaction. He was looking right at me now, his face suddenly serious. I continued. "You know my name, but I don't know yours." I didn't want to see his reaction so I turned my attention one more to the water. It really had a nice calming effect on me.

"You know my name," he said matter of factly. Hmpf. Figures he would be like this. He has an amazing skill and body, with a bad attitude to top it all off. I turned my head toward him again.

"I think you're being a bit cocky, no?" And he really was being. Sure, everyone not living under a rock knew his name, but does that mean he can't have manners? When someone tells you there name, you introduce your self back, no matter how big of a star they are. He closed his eyes. His lips were set into a thin line. He took a deep breath in, before looking at me again.

"You're right. That was rude of me." He stuck out his hand, waiting for me to shake it. "Edward Cullen." I gave in. Oh come on. He just so...so...pretty. I couldn't help it.

"Bella Swan." He knew that already, but, if he was playing nice, I thought I should do the same. I took his large hand in mine and shook it. I was overwhelmed by the warmness and softness of it. Probably from all those hours spent in the water.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss. Swan," he said with that same grin on his face that I had seen earlier today.

"Like wise, Mr. Cullen." He laughed at this. "What?"

"You _can not _call me that. It makes me feel so...so old."

"And how do you think I feel when you call me Miss Swan?" It's true, I didn't like be called that. It always made feel I was in trouble or something.

"Fair enough, Bella. Or do you prefer Miss No Sport?" He would not stop smiling. I was about to loose it. If I looked into his eyes for another second, I would just get lost, and would probably loose my ability to form coherent sentences.

"Bella will do fine for now." Something brought me back to our first conversation. He said something that bothered me. "So, when we first met, how come you automatically assumed I played a sport?"

"Well," he said slowly. He thought for a moment before continuing. "You've obviously got a great figure, and you're very beautiful. I was thinking beach volleyball." I think my mouth fell open in shock. Great figure. Beautiful. He has got to be kidding me.

"Ha! That's funny. No, I've never really been that athletic type," I said looking away from he. Was I ashamed? No, not really. A bit embarrassed? Maybe. That's what happens when you are having a conversation with a World Champion.

"Well, what about swimming? You know, everyone should know how to swim." He looked out onto the pool with me.

"Lets put it this way, if you threw me in right now, I would probably survive. And...that's about the extent of my capabilities."

"In that case..." Before I could even realize what he was doing, he had already scooped me up bridal style and was making his way down the stands.

"Edward! Put me down! What do you think you're doing!" I'm pretty sure my loud cries traveled through out the whole building. Can you say embarrassing? I started fidgeting to try to get out of his grasp. He noticed, and simply pulled me tighter against his chest. Damn his incredibly strong arms. With a few steps left until we got back on the ground, I just gave up and let him carry me. I have to admit, I did feel very comfortable in his arms. I definitely could get used to this. Although, the freak out resumed when he continued to walk towards the pool; I thought he would stop when we reached the bottom of the stands.

"You're going to get me fired, you know!" I said to him, suddenly very angry with him now. We were right at the edge of the incredibly deep looking pool when he finally set me down. He laughed.

"Don't worry, Bella. I would never let that happen." I looked up at him; he seemed to be enjoying this whole situation very much. I wasn't. I started to walk back towards the stands to collect my things. Stupid Edward and his perfect muscles. I heard him quietly laughing behind me.

"Wait, Bella." He was quickly at my side. He smoothly grabbed my hand to pull me back a bit. "Let me," he said giving my hand a small squeeze. He started running up the stairs, three at a time. The warmness of his hand still lingered on mine. I smiled to myself at the thought of his hand in mine.

He was back in a flash with my things in his hands. I took them from him.

"Thank you," I said rather curtly, not looking up at him. I turned to walk away, and what a shock, he was at my side again. He spun around to stand on front of me.

"Yes, what is it Edward?" I said rather impatiently. His whole face was soft, almost remorseful.

"I'm sorry, I was being rather rude today." I met his gaze; he wanted me to forgive him, I could tell. He ran his hand through his hair, which was wilder that ever.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." I took a step to the side, trying to go around him. He was faster than me.

"Let me make it up to you." He said standing in front of me once again.

"Really, Edward, it's not necessary." I tried to walk past him again. This time, he softly grabbed my elbow, turning me back to face him.

"I want to. Let me take you out to dinner tonight. Please?" I could not say no to those big, beautiful eyes.

"Sure. That would be lovely," I said, giving him a genuine smile.

"Great!" He seemed very relieved. "Does seven sound alright?" I looked away from him, my expression pained.

"Edward, I have to know, why me?" I asked him looking back at his face. He looked away this time, as if thinking about what he was going to tell me.

"I just feel so...relaxed when I'm around you. It's a great feeling to have, especially right now, during all this madness," he said gesturing to the pool. "And, you just treat me like a normal person. Practically every one I meet now is just badgering me about swimming or wanting my autograph. It's nice to get away from all of that and be normal for once." Oh my. Is this guy really standing in front of me right now? I must be dreaming...He was just too perfect.

I gave him a big smile. "Seven sounds great." And with that I turned around and walked away, greatly looking forward to tonight.

**You know the drill, review!!**

**Who ever does gets cuddle time with Edward! And who wouldn't want that?!**

**:P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sixteen reviews for just two chapters! You guys are awesome!! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: ilistentomymuse, totaltwilightaddicto, twilight lover, distorted realities, virginiagymnast670, DP Reporter111, twilightaddict, RoGueSurfer, Karren1109, Lauren, and Jordan!! **

**Perfect song for Edward and Bella's date: Nasim Joon by O.A.R. Check it!**

After Edward was long gone, I was stuck with the very joyous task of cleaning and stocking the locker rooms. I found myself starting to count down the hours until I got off work. But, even when I did, I knew that I still had a few hours of doing nothing until I had my date with Edward. Ugh, how was I going to keep myself busy?

Many hours later, I finally was able to leave the Aquatic Center. I had done countless loads of laundry, and had folded hundreds of plush towels. They were all piled up now, just waiting to be dragged across a swimmer's beautiful, rock hard chest.

The sun was still fairly high in the sky, and it was a beautiful day. Maybe a bit too hot for my liking, but I would be back in the nice air conditioned hotel soon enough. As I opened the door to the hotel, the sudden rush of cool air greeted me, and I felt instantly better. I made my way across the lobby, anxious to get back to my room to take a shower. I hoped that the chlorine smell the was stuck to my body would come off.

There were no special prizes waiting for me in the elevator (unlike this morning). I smiled to myself as the elevator zoomed upward, remembering what had happened the last time I was in here. The elevator door opened, and I dug through my bag for my key. I pulled the door open and was greeted with a envelope resting on the floor just inside the door.

I dropped all of my things on the floor and quickly grabbed the envelope and ran over to the bed. It was freshly made, (thank you housekeeping) so I plopped down, laying on my stomach, getting nice and comfortable before I opened the note. I pulled the white hotel supplied paper out of the envelope and read:

_Bella – _

_I hope work wasn't too boring. Can't wait for tonight. Bring a bathing suit._

_Edward_

I must have read the note half a dozen times before I laid it on the bed side table. I was extremely happy; and who wouldn't be? The only thing that bothered me was the whole 'bring a bathing suit' thing. That really threw me off. He probably really was going to throw me into the pool this time. I ignored my last thought and jumped in the shower, all the while trying to figure out how I was going to pass the time until seven.

Well, I figured I would do what every body else does when they have nothing to do. That's right, watch T.V. And, much to my luck, there was nothing on. Well, nothing really captivating. Nothing to keep my mind from wandering to Edward and our date tonight. I kept running though my head all the things that could go wrong, what he would do, what I would do, and so on and so forth. I knew I was over thinking things. I was giving my self a headache.

So, after going through all the channels three times, I was hopping back and forth between and documentary on Polygamy and a twelve year old episode of _Seinfeld_. Yeah, I know. After about a half an hour, the documentary took a turn for the worst, so I stayed on Seinfeld. I still found it funny, even though I had seen this episode five times.

The whole watching T.V. thing worked, because before I knew it, it was fifteen to seven. I jumped out of bed, I went through my still unpacked suitcase to try to find something to wear. Because Edward had given me no indication about wear we were going tonight, I settled for my favorite pair on tan pants and a polo (not much unlike the one I wore to work today...).

I stuffed a bathing suit into my bag, and headed to the bathroom to run a brush through my hair. I heard a knock at the door, causing me to drop the brush into the sink, making a large crash. Oh, I hope he didn't hear that...

As I was walking towards the door, I threw a quick glance at the clock next to my bed. Seven o'clock exactly. Impressive. I pulled the door and was greeted by an oh so perfect Edward. He never failed to disappoint. He was in jeans again and a tight black T-shirt that clung perfectly to his chest and around his arms. When I was finally able to look at his face, he was looking smug, like he knew what I was doing.

He spoke first. "Hey."

"Hi," I said very slowly, probably sounding a bit stupid. He smiled.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let me just grab my bag." It took all my will power to turn away from him. I just wanted to gaze into his eyes forever. Gosh, I had it bad. I grabbed my bag off the bed and practically ran back towards the door. I walked out and he shut the door softly behind us. We started to walk towards the elevator; I was still studying his face. He looked down at me; I was caught.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked him quickly as if trying to come up with an excuse for looking at him. He gave me another heart melting, knees wobbling smile.

"What do you think?" he asked as the doors opened. We stepped on and he pressed a button which started to glow. We were standing fairly close, much closer than we were this morning, which made me blush.

"Im guessing no." I said, still gazing up and him.

"You guess correctly." I was shocked when the elevator started to move upwards. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to what button he pushed.

"Where are we going?" I asked him with slight panic in my voice. He laughed. He likes do laugh at me a lot doesn't he? Maybe if I get mad enough he'll ask me out again...Wait, I'm getting way ahead of myself. Our first date hasn't even started yet!

"My room," he replied like it was so obvious. Oh, wait, wait. Was he one of _those_ guys? I really hope not, he didn't seem like it. My heart was going even faster than it was before, now that I knew where we were going. He must have sensed my impending anxiety attack. He turned me around to face him, placing both of his hands on my arms.

"Bella, Bella, don't worry. I just have something special planned tonight." He started rubbing his hands up and down my arms trying to clam me. It worked. He touch was like nothing else. The whole world just seemed to slip away. The elevator doors opened and he grabbed my hand to lead me off. He lead me to the right, where there was only one door to choose from. We were on the top floor of the hotel, so I assumed this is where the suites were. Only the best for Edward Cullen, right?

He opened the door for me, which was already unlocked. I took a few steps into the suite. Gosh, and I thought I had a nice room. From what I could see, I was standing in one of the many rooms that made up his suite. It was actually like a small apartment. I kept walking though, trying to take everything in.

"It's nice, huh?" He was still standing near the door watching me.

"Very," I agreed. I walked through the living room, which was filled with huge couches and chairs, not to mention a flat screen on the wall. I reached the glass doors that led out to a large private patio over looking the city. It was breath taking, especially at night. I felt him brush up against my arm. I turned around, to find him standing right behind me. I gasped a bit, having his whole body practically pressed against mine.

"So, did you bring your bathing suit?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes," I replied rather reluctantly. "Why are we going down to the pool?"

"Not exactly," he said looking over me, out onto the patio. I took the hint and spun around to see what he was looking at. I don't know how I missed it. Off to the right was a large pool that looked very inviting, even for me. The lights in the water created all these beautiful little patters around the deck that were mesmerizing.

I groaned. "Really, Edward, do I have to?" I asked, or whined you could say.

"Oh, c'mon. You will be very safe with me. Don't worry." I knew I would be. I never would have thought when I woke up this morning that I would be swimming with Edward Cullen. In his private pool, no less! Life is funny some times. He turned around and pointed down the hallway. "The bathroom is just down the hall, to the left."

I started to walk away and threw a quick glace over my shoulder at him. He was still smiling at me. I looked away and rolled my eyes as I made my way towards the bathroom. It was the first door I came across. It was the size of the one in my room, which surprised me. But, I knew that the master bathroom would be much more grander than this. Not that I needed anything grand. Don't get me wrong.

I quickly changed into my suit and made my way back to the living room. Edward was no longer there, but the glass door was open a few inches, so I guessed he was already in the pool. I pulled open the door and shut it behind me. The patio was much larger than I thought, it wrapped around the edge of the hotel, and I noticed that there was another sliding glass door on the other side. A light was on in the room, so I could see that it was his bedroom. It was huge, with a bed twice my size. I was surprised how clean it was though. I guess he had housekeeping to thank for that. I walked over to the edge of the pool. I was getting a bit of a chill from being this high up.

"Come join me. It's nice and warm in here," he said softly, swimming over to where I was. Was I that easy to read?

"You're not going to try to teach me how to swim are you?" I asked looking down at him. I could see through the clear water that he was just in a pair of board shorts. It was odd not to see him in one of those tight Speedos. Not that I was complaining...

"I wouldn't dare!" he said. I don't know if he was serious or not. My thoughts suddenly roamed else where.

"I thought we were going out to dinner." I hated being tricked like this. Not knowing what was coming next.

"Well, why go out when you can stay in? Are you going to join me or not?" I guess I had questioned him enough for tonight. There was no way I was going to jump in, so I made my way around to the stairs that led into the pool. I slowly started to walk in. He was right, the water was very warm. Before I knew it, he was right at my side, holding out his hand. The water only came up to his waist, so I got a great view on his wet chest. I was blushing again. I don't normal gawk at people like this. Really.

I took his hand and made my way over to him. He frowned a bit. This alarmed me.

"What? What is it?"

"I don't like being in water this shallow. It's odd, feeling the bottom of the pool like this." I think that was code for: "Let's go into the deep end!"

"Edward, you know I can't swim well," I told him.

"That's alright." He snaked his arm around my waist and pull me against him. "I've got you," he whispered into my ear. His warm breath tickled my ear. He was making his way across the pool now. I grabbed onto his shoulder and leaned against him, letting him take me with him. I had a burning desire just to rub my hand down his shoulder and back, feeling all of his perfect muscles, but I figured it might be a bit too much for a first date. We got to the middle of the pool when he stopped.

"Now, was that so bad?" he asked, turning his head, out faces were dangerously close at this point.

"I guess not," I whispered back with a small smile. The mood suddenly shifted.

"Well," he said with a sigh. "If you are not going to let me teach you how to swim, you can at least learn how to float on your back. Do you know how to do that?" I shook my head.

"Great! I'm going to teach you. I don't know how much longer I can carry you around like this. It's _so_ tiring," he said sarcastically. He moved his hand from around my waist and planted it securely on my lower back.

"Are you ready?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. I nodded. He lifted my body up so I was at the top of the water. One of his hands was now lightly placed under my head. "Arch your back," he instructed me. I did so. And just like that, I was floating. Quite an accomplishment, if you ask me.

"See," he said wide-eyed. "You did it!" I felt his hand that was on my back start to pull away. I was not prepared for my reaction...and I don't think he was either.

"No, Edward!" I cried, and wrapped my arms around his neck. He put his arm securely around my waist again.

"It's ok," he told me. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you." I didn't say anything. Was I trying to memorize way his arms and chest felt against me? Maybe...

"Have we had enough for one night?" he asked me with a chuckle. I nodded against his shoulder. He swam back over to the stairs and carried me out. I was being a bit silly, I guess. It's not like I had almost drowned or anything. But, like before, it was nice to feel his strong arms around me. He walked over to the wicker table and put me done. He gave me a towel (much like the ones I had spent hours cleaning this morning) and I dried off.

When we were both done, he grabbed my hand and led me inside. "So, are we ready for dinner?" he asked.

"Yes, that would be lovely." He grinned.

"Alright. I'll let you get changed," he said.

"Thanks," I replied softly as I made my way back to the bathroom. When I was done, I walked back into the living room and noticed that the T.V. was on. The news was covering Edward and his upcoming races the week. I listened in.

"_We will go now to Jordan Hale who is live at the Aquatic Center in Washington. Jordan, tell us what can we expect from Edward Cullen during these Olympics?"_

"_Well, Edward will be competing for ten medals. From the way he looked at the trails a few months ago, I think it is safe to say he has a very good shot at winning all ten gold medals. His only real problem will be Mike Newton, who came in second at the trails. If Cullen can stray off Newton, it is fairly safe to say he will have much Olympic success."_

I heard some muttering behind me. Edward was walking into the living room hold a bunch of boxes and glancing at the T.V. He sat down on the huge leather couch. He didn't seem happy the way he was looking at the screen.

"What is it?" I asked him, sitting down next to him.

"That vile Mike Newton. He comes close to beating me in a few races, and now he thinks that he is going to win gold." He started opening all of the boxes. I was surprised at what I saw.

"Turkey sandwiches?" I asked him.

"What? Did you want to go out to a five star restaurant and have a steak and artichoke hearts?" he asked me skeptically.

"No, no. This is perfect," I told him giving him a smile. There were about six boxes though, I assumed he would eat five and a half. It really was perfect. We sat next to each other on the couch, watching what ever was on T.V. while we ate. Although, he continued eating long after I was finished. I was perfectly content. He leaned back next to me and I snuggled up against his chest. I don't know how long it was until I slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, I know this is a day late. Sorry! And, I don't really like this chapter. Just a bit of E and B filler before we get to the excitment of the Opening Ceremony!! So, please let me know how you like it!!**

**A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: ilistentomymuse, Kellinw, CULLENCUTiE14, Karren1109, totaltwilightaddicto, emilyevans27, twilightlover116, distorted realities, twilightgirl1901, DarkMagic10, Lauren, and Jordan.**

I woke up in the softest bed imaginable. The over stuffed navy comforter was pulled up to my neck. It felt like heaven. After I few minutes of lying there, I suddenly realized that this wasn't my bed...or my room. The events of last night came back to me in a rush; I remembering falling asleep on the couch. I sat up in the bed, looking around, as if trying to confirm my suspicions. And, I was right. I noticed the pool off to my right. I groaned a bit, I'm not sure why. Maybe it was the fact that I had just slept in Edward Cullen's bed (...with Edward Cullen). I looked around a bit more, and I saw yet another note from Edward on the pillow next to mine (_his_ pillow).

_Bella -_

_Did you have a nice sleep? I hope so. I've gone to practice. Be back soon._

_Edward_

_P.S. Don't worry about going to work today; I've taken care of it._

He had taken care of it? What did that mean? I couldn't not show up for work on my second day! But, at the same time, part of me was happy that he did. I hadn't even thought about work today, until he mentioned it in the note. I glanced at the clock. I would have already been three hours late. Gosh, this guy seemed to be perfect.

I was still in my clothes from last night, and I desperately needed a shower. I hopped out of the bed and walked back into the grand living room. My bag and shoes were easy to find, on the counter. Edward must have know I would be looking for them.

After I made my way back down to my room, took a shower, and got dressed, I was at a loss to what I was going to do for the rest of the day, since I didn't have to go into work. I finally settled on unpacking my suitcase, since I was going to be here for a couple of weeks. "Well, that was a productive way to spend some time," I thought to myself.

I did how ever, have a secret burning desire to sneak down to the pool and watch Edward practice, but I decided that might be a bit stalker-ish. I was brought out of my Edward obsessed thoughts by a tap at the door. I wonder who that could be...

Ah, yes I was right. There he was at my door again, fresh from practice. He did look a bit tired, but he smiled when I opened the door.

"Would you like to come in?" I asked him. My room was nothing in comparison to his, and we both knew that.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks," he said as I stepped aside and he walked in. I shut the door and turned back around to face him.

"How was practice?" I wondered, at a loss of what else to say.

"It was fine thanks," he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed. I was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, not too far away from him (and his luscious body). "But, I have to tell you," he continued. "I was a bit disappointed you weren't down there to watch me. I found it rather relaxing while you were there yesterday." Gosh, was it only yesterday? I seemed like forever ago since I first stepped into that elevator.

"Well," I looked down, a bit self conscious that he said that. "I didn't want to intrude..." My thoughts trailed off to something he had said yesterday. "Wait a minute! Yesterday you said I was distracting you by sitting there!" I said with shock in my voice. How was he going to explain this one?

"That's true. I did say that," he said nodding his head. "That's because I wanted so badly to come up and talk to you. I wanted to find out more about this Bella Swan that I had met in an elevator. And, now I know you." he finished with a smile. I was in shock. I really did not think such a guy existed. Edward is the kind of guy you read about in your favorite books growing up; the perfect guy. And, now, here he is, in flesh and bone, right in front of my eyes (...sitting on my bed).

"You really don't know anything about me," I said softly. "And the same with me. All I know is that you are an amazing swimmer." This was true. And it was something that had been bothering me. I spent the night with him and yet I knew nothing. Of course, Edward was very aware of my moods. He stood up and approached me slowly, as if asking permission. He took his hand in mine.

"I know, Bella. I know," he whispered to me. He delicately placed his forehead on mine. "I want to get to know you Bella, more than anything else. Yesterday, I just wanted to spend some time with you. It's like you've got some supernatural effect on me; I stop thinking about everything coming up when you're with me. We have plenty of time to get to know each other." He took his free hand and placed it on my cheek. I really didn't know what the appropriate response was.

"Thank you, Edward," I replied finally looking back up at him. I felt bad that I was being so moody, but it was true. I really wanted to get to know him (and not just his body, although...). He gave my hand a little squeeze and started leading us towards the door.

"Where are we going, Edward?" I asked, the mood light again.

"You have got to stop asking me that. Where is the fun in it if you know where we're going?" he replied as we got onto the elevator. I rolled my eyes at him, I hope he didn't notice. He walked to the side of the elevator and leaned against it. He tugged my arm a bit motioning me to come over to him. There was a small little smile on him face, which I returned as I walked over to him. I was leaning gently against him now, my head resting on his chest. I felt his chin rest on the top of my head. He sighed. Ahhhhh, life is good. No, wait. Life is great.

It seemed like Edward and I were spending a lot of time in elevators lately. For some reason, that made me smile. I wonder what he was thinking right now... The doors opened into the lobby and he lead us out. I was waiting for the swarm of people to come out of now where to talk to him, or take his picture, but it never came. I wondered why that was. Was it because I was with him?

When we reached the street, he turned left. Odd, I thought. I thought he would be taking me back to the Aquatic Center. I didn't say anything to him as we walked along the bust street. He face was calm, and when ever I would sneak a look up at him, he would sneak one too. He seemed to be always aware of what I was doing; what I was feeling. And he thought _I_ had an effect on_ him_.

He stopped and I suddenly realized where we were. You couldn't miss it. "What are we going here?" I asked him, not expecting an answer.

"You'll see; all in good time." It turns out that Edward had lead us to the main stadium being used for the Opening Ceremony, and track and field. It had taken over two years to build, and it certainly was the vocal point of these games. I hadn't been in here before; they really weren't letting anybody in before the Opening Ceremony, so it certainly was a shock. Just the size of the place took my breath away. I felt like a tiny little ant standing at the bottom and looking all around me. The place seemed to be empty, which surprised me. I thought there would have been a whole lot of people in here trying to get ready for Friday.

Edward didn't stop, we walked into the middle of the stadium, all the while I was still looking around. He stopped and turned to look at me. I wondered what was going on. Well, at least there wasn't a pool near by. He started walking up the stairs, higher and higher we went, passing hundreds and hundreds of rows of seats. He stopped again and a seemingly random row and made his way down. We both sat down next to each other. It was only now, looking out over the stadium, that I was able to grasp how far up we had gone and how huge this place was. It almost was a bit eerie; just the two of us in a stadium that could hold 90,000.

I was still at a loss what we were doing up here. I turned to Edward. His face was calm, but it seemed like he was deep in thought about something. I didn't want to disturb so I sat quietly next to him, enjoying the moment.

"It's amazing isn't it?" he said. I was surprised when he spoke; also hoping for some type of explanation of what we were doing up here. "To be a part of something so big. So much bigger than any of us. So long I have been working, hoping, dreaming, of this moment and here it is. Right in front of my eyes." I was listening very intently now, clinging to his every word. "I wanted to share this with you," he said looking over at me. His face was so soft, he had put his guard down, exposing himself. He was letting me know what was going on in that head of his; something I had been wanting to unlock.

"I find it so calming to be here with no one else around. In a couple of days this entire place will be filled, and then the real work begins," he said with a small chuckle. I thought this might be a good time to speak.

"If it is so calming to be here by yourself, why did you bring me?" I asked him.

"I told you," he said grinning. "You've got this weird sort of effect on me. _You_ make me forget about all that is on my shoulders right now. And, plus, I've never really been able to share this with anyone. I've been to two Olympics, but I've never had anyone there for me; to share the experience, besides my family of course. You never bothering me about swimming or anything. You're just...there. And I really needed that this time around. My last time around." And yet another reason why he was being put under so much pressure. He was expected to go out with a bang.

I linked my arm through his, resting my head on his shoulder. He had opened up so much to me, I really didn't know how to react. "I'll always be here for you," I whispered. He looked down at me. "I know," he replied.

And with that, there was nothing else to be said. So we sat, taking in the serine moment with each other before all the madness started.

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	5. Chapter 5

**I am glad to hear that you guys love Michael Phelps as much as me! I've gotten a few reviews that talk more about Michael that how they like my story! That's totally Ok guys, but I would love to know how you like the story! Feel free to rant on and on about his hotness (I would actually prefer it), as long as there is a tiny part at the end that says, "Great job!" or whatever. You get the idea!**

**Speaking of Michael Phelps, did you guys catch his race last night?! It was freaking amazing. He beat Milo Cavic by .01 seconds in the 100 meter butterfly!! It was insane to say the least. **

**And speaking of Twilight, I assume everybody has heard the news by now. If you haven't, Twilight is being released three weeks early!! November 21!! I nearly died when I heard.**

**A big thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Kels16, Twilightaddict, sweetheart100, esmecullen14, .kingdonheartsjunky., Aubrinaa, DarkMagic10, totallytwilightaddicto, ilistentomymuse, jschwartzie20, and Lauren!!**

**Ok thanks for listening to all that! On with the story!**

Unfortunately, I didn't see much of Edward during the two days left before the Opening Ceremony. He was training like crazy, spending hours in th pool each day. Plus, anytime he had left over was spent eating or sleeping. I was glad though, I didn't want my presence to distract him. And, I knew that once the Games started I probably wouldn't see him at all. I mean, he shouldn't feel obligated to spent time with me, right? It's not like we are going out or anything, we're just friends. On second thought, I really had no idea how Edward feels about me. It was extremely frustrating.

Things at work were crazy on Thursday; all the staff was sent to the main stadium to prepare for the next day. Even though I didn't have a moment to catch my breath, my thoughts were still constantly returning to Edward. He was just...such a nice thing to think about.

It was eight o'clock on Thursday. I was supposed to get off work four hours ago, but there was just so much to do, everyone had to stay late. I was giving the fabulous job of stuffing folders on all Olympic activities for spectators. I had huge piles of papers in front of me, maps, schedules, and about a dozen other papers. I had to put all of these in hundreds of folders. There were about four other people doing the exact same thing as me, but it was still extremely boring. These people weren't really the chatty type if you know what I mean. We were all spread out in one corner of the floor in the stadium silently working.

I looked up to see a large figure towering over me. "Well doesn't this look like fun," he said sarcastically, looking around at the mounds of papers that surrounded me. He dropped gracefully to the floor to sit next to me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, all the while my hands still busy. I was definitely going to get a paper cut one of these hours.

"Well, I stopped by your room, but you weren't there so I just assumed you were still at work. Here I brought you this." He set a large cup if coffee and a small bag in front of me. "I knew you've been working many hours, so I thought you might be hungry." And I was. I folded my hands in my lap, so he knew I was paying attention to him.

"Thank you," I said looking over at him. He was in shorts today, showing off his perfectly muscled legs. He was also wearing another one of those tight T-shirts that I loved so much; black today. "Shouldn't I be the one bringing you food? You've been practicing all day and I've just been sitting here." He laughed. His eyes seemed to light up, it was simply mesmerizing.

"I don't think you could carry all the food that I have to eat," he said grinning. That was probably true. I looked away from him for a second, and I noticed that the other four people I was working with were all looking at us in shock. I guess it was odd that Edward Cullen was chatting with _me_. Plus, they were all women under thirty, so that probably had something to do with it. It made me slightly uncomfortable.

"So, are you ready for tomorrow? Big day," I said trying to not think about our audience right now.

"Yeah, it should be great. You'll be here right?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied looking over my shoulder. "Right over there," I said pointing to one of the nearest aisles in the stands. I was going to be at the bottom, right near the floor, so I would have a great view of Ceremony. But, I was supposed to be showing people the way around if they got lost, that was my job tomorrow.

"Will you be looking for me?" he asked smugly. A wicked little grin spread across his face.

"Of course! Everyone will be! The great Edward Cullen. You might just be the hi-light of the entire show," I replied back.

"Oh, please," he scoffed. I smiled and took a sip of the coffee he had brought me. It was delicious. "Well, I just wanted to stop by, and make sure you're doing alright," he said getting up. He was probably extremely tired.

"Thanks again, Edward. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," he said. He gave me one last grin and walked away. I think I stared at him the entire time he was walking towards the door. I really couldn't help myself. After he left, I opened the bag that he had brought me along with my coffee. In it was a delicious looking chicken sandwich, still hot. This was perfect, I never had gotten the chance to eat dinner. Did he know that?

Two hours and three paper cuts later, I was finally back in my room. I threw all my stuff down at the door and collapsed on the bed. I groaned, realizing that I had to get up to change into something more comfortable. As I sat up, I noticed something on the bedside table. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a piece of chocolate cheesecake drizzled with chocolate sauce all over it. And next to the plate, was a note. I picked it up, instantly recognizing the neat script. It was shorter than the previous ones:

I'll _be looking for _you.

I grinned. I guess we both wanted to see each other tomorrow. And we would. I sat the note down, and started eating. Wow, this guy really knew the way to a girl's heart. Chocolate, that's really all it takes. Was that what he was trying to do? Ugh, I really didn't know. All I knew is that the cake was delicious. It melted on my tongue and was insanely rich. I knew tomorrow was going to be a _long _day, so when I was done my cake I quickly got into bed.

In the grand scheme of things, I thought I was pretty smart. I guess I knew more about some things than others. For example, countries around the world. I thought I knew all of those. Or at least, could recognize them. But, no. As I was standing there, the next evening, surrounded by 90,000 people, during the Parade of Nations, I was shocked about how many of those countries I had never heard of.

The Ceremony was really amazing though. It went through our nations history: the founding fathers, the signing of the declaration, first man on the moon, and so on. They did leave out all the bad things though; the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the second_ Jaws_ movie, you get the idea. If I was higher up I probably could have seen better, but still, it was an amazing experience.

And, so here we are, during the Parade of Nations. I was still wondering how I was ever going to find Edward in the huge mass of United States athletes. Regardless, the stadium went absolutely crazy when the United States athletes came into the stadium. I was cheering, but, I couldn't even hear my own cheers over everyone else.

I had my eyes peeled for Edward, but everyone looked the same, in the blue pants and white polos (what is it with the Olympics and polos?). More and more people filled past me, but still no Edward. I had a feeling this might happen, but, it still made my heart sink. I was happy though, this was still such a great moment for him, and all of our athletes.

As soon it had started, it was over. Everyone started to file out after the Olympic flame was lit by some cyclist that nobody had heard of from thirty years ago. There were only a few times that I had to instruct people where to go, and other than that I really didn't do much except for watch the Ceremony.

Lucky for me, I didn't have to clean up the place. Everyone that was working tomorrow (me...ugh) got to head back to the hotel, while they brought in another crew to clean up. I was probably going to be sent back to the Aquatic Center tomorrow for work. Things were going to be much different, much more stressful, since competition started tomorrow. I knew Edward would do great, he was pretty much a shoe-in to win. He wasn't letting it go to his head though, which was good.

The next morning, I forced myself to get up, even though I was unbelievably groggy. By the time I had pulled my uniform on and was out the door I was semi-coherent. This job certainly had its high points...and its low points. If it wasn't for this job, I would have never had met Edward. But, also, I wondered if, at the end of these Games, I would be left with a broken heart. I had no idea how Edward really felt about me. Also, I knew that he wasn't even from around here. What would things be like after he left? "What a great way to start your morning, Bella. Thinking about this," I thought to myself as I was walking across the lobby.

By the time I got to the Aquatic Center, the stands were already starting to fill up. I quickly walked (hoping I wasn't late) towards the locker rooms, where I had a pile of towels shoved into my arms. I knew what to do with them. Why do I always get stuck with this job? The laundry room was just to the right of the locker rooms, so I made my way there. After putting the first load on, I grabbed some clean towels and headed back out to put them down at the chairs that each of the swimmers have in front of their lane.

There were even more people in the stands as I walked by the pool. You could feel the tension in the air too. The first Olympic medal was up for grabs here. I made my way down the line, setting a towel down on each folding chair. I was halfway through when I noticed something on one of the chairs. I looked down more closely at it.

At first, I was a little freaked out. But then I realized who it was from. Sitting on the chair

(his chair) was a picture of me, last night, at the Opening Ceremony. I had a huge smile on my face and was looking out at the stadium. It actually was a pretty good picture of me. I turned it over.

_I found you! Turn around and wish me luck._

What was he talking about? I spun around. And, there he was, already in his Speedo (yeah, I know) and his official U.S.A. jacket. He had a huge grin on his face, knowing that he had tricked me. "Not that I need it or anything..." he said. So much for not letting it go to his head...

"What did I tell you about being cocky?" I punched his rock hard shoulder playfully.

"Oh, c'mon. I was just joking!" he said wide-eyed. I held up the picture that was on his chair. I raised my eyebrows at him, wanting an explanation. He took the hint.

"I spotted you early on, and you looked so cute, so I took a picture. I knew you wouldn't be able to spot me a mid all those people, but I did see you looking," he said smiling.

"I told you I would be," I retorted. I slowly started to move down the line again, placing the towels down. He moved with me. I finished and looked down at the photo once more.

"I'm going to need that," he said grabbing the picture out of my hand.

"What for?" I asked him, slightly oblivious.

"Good luck of course!"

"Well, why have the picture when you have the real thing right here?" I responded, gazing up at him. He already had his cap on, covering (...or taming?) his beautiful hair.

"Because I can't have the real thing down here with me, it's against regulation!" he said, acting like it was _so_ obvious. What did I know about swimming regulations? And besides, how weird would it look if I was just hanging out down here during the race?

"Fine. I have to get back to work," I said as I walked past him, back towards the way I came.

"Thanks for the towel, Isabella." I heard him call over my shoulder. He had never used my full name before. It made me curious why he would do that. I returned back to the locker room, where I was told that the race was about to start and I should take my place on the side. As I walked out, I saw that the rest of the swimmers had already taken their places in front of the pool, preparing for the competition.

I had the sudden urge to do something, remembering what was on the back of the photo. Quickly, I walked over to the front of the pool. Edward was standing, stretching his head from side to side trying to loosen up. He noticed me coming towards him, and turned his body to face mine. Before he could say anything, I grabbed his wrist, and stood on my tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "Good luck." I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, loving the feeling on his warm and soft skin on mine. Without even looking him in the eye, I turned around and walked back to the stands.

**Sorry. I had to do that. Will Edward win gold? And what about the aftermath of the race? Stay tuned!**

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	6. Chapter 6

**I want to first thank everyone for the such positive response I have gotten for this story. I really means a lot to me that you all are enjoying it so much. I hope I can live up to your expectations!**

**A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: Sweetheart100, just-off-the-key-of-reason, greeneyessparkle, emilyevans27, twilightlover116, twilightgirl1901, DarkMagic10, Twilightaddict, Simply Emma, Cammie Swan1785, Kels16, smriti, smp2792, ilistentomymuse, distorted realities, .kingdomheartsjunky., and Lauren!!**

**A big thanks to Simply Emma for giving me an idea for this chapter! Is there something you would like to see in this story? Im extremely flexible! PM me and share your brilliant ideas!!**

I jumped a bit when it horn blew, signaling the start of the race for the swimmers. All ten of them simultaneously dove into the still blue water. I kept my eyes on Edward the whole race, although, I did have to rely on the large screen at the top of the pool, since it was so hard to see from where I was standing.

It was the 200 meter freestyle, an event that he had won gold in before. I knew he would win. Just deep down, I had this unyielding feeling in my gut that he would. At the hundred meter mark, he was already a full body length ahead of the swimmer that was closest to him. The entire crowd was on their feet, cheering him on, by the time he made the final push of the wall on the last lap.

I was simply amazing watching him glide through the water, he made it look so easy to the rest of us. And then, it was official. The first gold medal of these Olympics went to Edward Cullen. Everyone in the stands had erupted in cheers and yells. He pulled of his cap and goggles, exposing those two sparkling green eyes.

He waved to the crowd, and shook hands with the swimmers on either side of him, even though they were both like, "Dude, why did I even try?" He started to swim to the edge of the pool to get out. Remembering my official duty, I grabbed the nearest towel and made my way over to him. He was still dripping wet and was setting his cap down on the chair. And, there still on there on the chair was my picture, which I caught him staring at for a bit before he looked up and saw me.

That cute little smug grin was back on his face that I didn't know exact meaning. I guess he was trying to tell me, 'I did it!" I held out the towel to him. He reached out his arm, but, instead of taking the towel, he picked me up and spun me around, letting out a cry of victory. I grabbed onto his broad shoulders, pressing my face up against his neck. He sat me down (sad, I know), and rested his forehead against mine.

"See, I told you that you were my good luck charm," he said, still out of breath. I laughed.

"I have a feeling you would have won even without me here," I said smiling. Hey, it was true. Everyone should just start calling him Edward "The Merman" Cullen. No, they should not call him that. That's a crappy nickname.

We were both brought out of our private celebration by a tug at Edward's arm. It was someone from NBC, who had shoved a camera in our faces. He looked annoyed. I gave him the towel.

"It's fine. Go. I've got to get back to work anyway," I told him kindly. Stupid NBC people and their terrible timing.

"Thanks again, Bella," he said while he was starting to dry his chest off. No, on second thought, I don't have to go back to work. I'll just stand here and watch you. That dream was shot dead as Edward turned his attention to the camera. I started to walk away, looking down at my wet shirt. "It was totally worth it," I thought to myself, smiling. I heard him call my name over my shoulder. I spun around (again). You know, one day, it will be my turn to sneak up on him. He was looking over at me, the camera still in his face.

"Can I come and see you tonight?" he asked me, his face expectant. I nodded and turned around to continue walking.

I ditched out on my duties once more that day, to see Edward get his gold medal. The first of many, I knew. I stood right at the entrance of the locker rooms, and I had the perfect view of the podium (and Edward). They were announcing the bronze winner when I got there. When they got to Edward, he had a huge smile on his face. They put the medal around his neck and handed him a bouquet of flowers. He waved up at the stands and a huge cheer erupted from them. I think I even heard a group of young females chanting his name. Wow.

The National Anthem started to play, and Edward was glowing. He seemed so proud of himself, proud to have won this medal for the United States. The cheering continued after the song was done, while Edward and the other winners posed for a multitude of pictures. I headed back to work, knowing that we still had a bunch of women's races to prepare for today.

The rest of the day went fairly smooth, although, I couldn't seem to go anywhere the rest of the day without seeing Edward's face (not that I was complaining or anything). All of the T.V.'s around kept showing Edward touching the wall, or him receiving his medal. I guess this is what the next week was going to be like. Again, no complaints.

I was pretty tired by the time that I got back to my room, but I knew that Edward was coming over, so I hoped in the shower trying to make myself presentable. I threw on some comfortable cotton pants and a fitted T-shirt. After I was done putting my hair up, I heard a knock at the door. He always had perfect timing.

I swung open the door to find Edward holding up a large bag. "Have you eaten?" he asked, smiling. I shook my head, standing aside so he could come in. "Perfect. You like Italian right?" He turned around and I nodded. Was I incapable of speech around him? I had done it before...what happened? Maybe I just felt so out of place with him. I mean, he was an Olympian, and I was just...me. I shoved that thought to the back of my mind.

We both sat down at the small table next to the bed and started eating. He had brought pasta with some kind of delicious sauce that I had never heard of before and chicken. Where was he always getting all this great food? Probably the hotel kitchen. His voice cut through the silence.

"It is such a relief not talking about it," he said, twirling some pasta around his fork.

"What, your big win?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"Yeah, all those reporters want to talk about. I mean, what is there to say?" He held up an invisible microphone to his mouth. "You've just won your first gold medal, how do you feel? What kind of question is that? What are you supposed to say? I hate it."

"Oh, c'mon. It's worth it. When you get a gold medal, that's what happens. I'm sorry to break that to you," I pointed out. He laughed.

"That's very true," he said putting his fork down.

"So how did you feel," I asked, dropping my voice a bit. "Coming down those last ten meters?"

"Oh, well, it just felt fabulous," he replied, playing along.

After dinner, we laid on bed together, watching whatever was on T.V. He had his arm around me, and I was snuggled up against his chest. I took a deep breath in trying to memorize his tantalizing scent. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. That made it all more perfect, individual to him.

The nightly Olympic report came onto the screen, along with Edward on the starting platform. They were showing the tape of today's race. I heard him groan next to me and reach over to the table for the remote.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked him. He didn't seem too happy.

"I'm changing the channel. I don't want to watch this," he said about to push the button on the remote. I grabbed it out of his hand and put it on the other side of me.

"I don't think so. You're in my room, and I want to watch you swim," I said looking up at him. He looked extremely relaxed with his head leaning up against the headboard.

"Ok, what ever makes you happy." He leaned down to kiss the top of my head. I hope he didn't notice me blush.

We laid there for a while longer, just enjoying each others company. I stole a quick glance up at him, expecting him to be looking down at me. But he wasn't. He was asleep, for who know how long now. He looked so peaceful, probably enjoying the rest after the day that he had. I reached around me for the remote, and turned the T.V. off not wanting to wake him. I reluctantly slipped out from under his heavy arm and went around to the other side of the bed I grabbed the rough sheets and pulled them over him, smiling at the thought of tucking him in.

After I turned out the light, I slid into bed next to him. Our second night together. Gosh, this was a weird relationship. Well, what else can you do when a Olympic swimmer falls asleep in your bed? And with that last thought, I fell into a peaceful sleep (there might have been some Edward-dreaming going on, but I don't think I'm at liberty to say...).

The light coming in from the window woke me the next morning. Edwards' body as pressed up against my back, his arm around my waist, holding me against him. Not a bad way to wake up, let me tell you. I knew I had to get up and go to work. I took his arm and started to move it away from my waist (well, I didn't _want_ to!). I felt his arm tighten around me.

"No, don't go," he slurred. I could tell he was still half asleep. I tried to get up again, this time succeeding. I leaned down to him.

"Edward, you know I have to go to work," I whispered to him. He mumbled something incoherent and grabbing a pillow to take my place. Oh, he was just too cute. I could definitely get used to half-asleep Edward. Tip-toeing around the room, I grabbed some clothes and changed. As I was grabbing my bag, an idea came to me. Edward was always leaving me notes, so now it was my turn. I grabbed a piece of paper from the table and a pen, trying to decide what to write. Reading over my note a minute or two later, I was pretty happy with what I had come up with.

_Edward –_

_Did you have a nice sleep? Sorry my bed isn't as nice as yours. I'll see you at the pool._

_Bella_

_P.S. Be nice to the reporters! They are only doing their job. _

I left it next to his shoes that he kicked off last night, to make sure that he would get it. I headed out the door and down the street to the Aquatic Center. Edward wasn't competing until this afternoon I knew, so I was happy to let him sleep in.

I did a few more loads of laundry in the morning, as well as making sure that everything was ready for the women's races. It was around one when Edward showed up; looking very rested. I wondered how late he had slept in. He walked over to the locker rooms, making his way inside. I figured this would be my chance to sneak up him; he did it to me way to often.

When I got inside, I saw he was sitting on one of the benches, his back facing me. Perfect. I walked quickly towards him and touched his arm. "Hey," I said, trying to startle him. He had the same reaction I had. He spun around and smiled at me. I sat down next to him.

"Why did you do that? What if I got scared and fell off this bench and cracked my head open?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

"Yeah, you're right. That would never happen," he said sighing.

"I figured I had to get my revenge. You are always doing that to me." I heard his name being called from the doorway.

"Oh, I guess it is time for me to go," he said, standing up. I got up too.

"Good luck," I said starting to walk towards the door.

"What no kiss today?" he asked in disbelief. After a brief eye roll, I turned around and gave him another kiss on the cheek like yesterday. This time though, I felt his lips on my cheek as well, leaving my skin burning.

"Thank you," he whispered, gazing into my eyes, and then headed out to win another gold (hopefully).

**Aww, isn't Edward sweet? He is always bringing Bella food.**

**I don't really like the ending there, so let me know what you think. Get ready for the drama in the next chapter!**

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	7. Chapter 7

**Michael has won eight gold medals. It's all over. So sad. Luckily, we still have my story! I know it's nothing compared to the awesomeness of Michael Phelps, but still.**

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As I watched Edward accept his second gold medal, I noticed that he looked slightly on-edge. It was probably because he had another race in less than two hours. He smiled brightly for the cameras and posed with the other winners. I was standing right off to the side of the podium, quite near the horde of cameras that were taking their picture like there was no tomorrow. With one last wave to the crowd, Edward stepped off of the podium and made his way over to the first interview he had to do.

Right before he reached the camera, he turned around and caught my glace. Gracefully, he threw the bouquet of roses to me, that he had received with his medal. I caught it (thank goodness) and brought it up to my chest. With a wink, he turned around and started the first of many interviews. I hope he would remember what I told him.

I laid the flowers down with the rest of my things, thinking about how great Edward has been to me in the just few days that I had know him. I had never met anyone like him before, and I was sure I wouldn't again. The only part that really bothered me was the fact that I still wasn't sure if we were a couple or not. I didn't like dancing between the friends and couple stage. But, what if he only thought of me as a friend? We were going to have to have this talk sometime. I decided that I should put it off in till all his races were over, I didn't want him to have any extra stress. For now, I would just be here for him, and support him as much as I could.

I was pleasantly surprised when Edward came over to me in between his races. He gently grabbed my wrist to turn me around.

"Hey, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be getting ready for the race?" I asked him, urgently. He leaned casually up against the wall, crossing one long leg in front of the other.

"I've been ready," he said shrugging. I rolled my eyes at him, leaning up against the wall also.

"Of course you have." I looked out onto the still pool.

"So, how is work going," he asked conversationally. I was shocked that he was actually asking me about that. Now of all times.

"You really want to talk about that now? When you're about to go and compete for another gold medal?" I asked him in disbelief, gesturing toward the massive pool. He shrugged his shoulders for a second time.

"I don't really want to think about it. And, you're a good distraction," he replied slowly, his eyes burning two holes in me. After saying that, and looking at me like _that_,I lost my train of thought for a minute. After recovering from his sexiness, I realized that I should help distract him.

"So is your family here? I heard you mention them before." It was the first thing that popped into my mind. When we were sitting alone in the main stadium, I remembered him saying that he had no one to share this experience with, except his family. I thought they would be hanging around Edward a lot, but, surprisingly, I had not seem them yet.

"Yeah, they are. You'll meet them," he said, as if he had already thought about introducing me to his parents. That would be interesting. I heard a whistle blow of in the distance and the crowd start cheering. "Oh, I have to go!" He sounded a bit disappointed. "That gold medal isn't going to make its way around my neck all by its self," he said, joking, taking a small step towards me. He took my cheek in his large hand and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before he looked down at me.

"I'll see you later?" he asked me, expectant. Like you could keep me away, Edward.

"Yes, of course," I replied with a small smile.

"Great," he whispered, brushing his thumb over my cheek before walking towards the pool. Oh my, my heart must have been going a million miles an hour. Thank goodness he couldn't hear it. I really don't know why I was acting like this. I mean, it's not like we haven't had close physical contact before. We've slept together twice! Well, not really slept together...you know. I don't have to explain.

Anyway, after I pulled myself together, I quickly made my way over to the pool so I wouldn't miss the race. I'm glad this wasn't one of those jobs where your boss was watching you like a hawk all the time.

Edward's third race was the 200 butterfly, and I (along with the rest of the world) was anxious to see him tackle this one. According to the announcer (because I know nothing about swimming and I could barley see), Edward got a good start of the block, and was already taking the lead in the first lap. I tried to find him, but that was hard a mid all of the splashing.

I did see him though when he was back on the podium a few minutes later receiving his third gold medal. This race was much closer than the previous two had been, but Edward didn't seem to notice. He met my eye line while the National Anthem was playing and gave me another wink. He just couldn't get any cuter, with a little smirk spreading across his face. I cheered as loud as I could, along with 20,000 other people while they were stepping down.

About a half an hour later, when I was back to work, Edward came up to me, the shiny medal still around his neck. It was much bigger in person and I could notice all the details on it. His face was still a bit flushed for the hard and exhilarating morning he had. The stadium was almost empty by now, since there were no more races today. I spoke before he had a chance to.

"Were you nice to the reporters?" I asked him with a smile, figuring that was what he had been doing for the past thirty minutes. He laughed.

"Yes, very nice. Don't worry. You'll probably be able to see for yourself tonight," he said with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

"True," I said nodding. "I'm looking forward to it." He rolled his eyes and changed the subject.

"So, what time do you get off work?"

"Um, four. Why?" I asked. Like I didn't know. Please. He smiled, like he knew exactly what I was just thinking.

"Well, I was thinking I would come by and walk you back to the hotel," he said a bit shyly. It was such a change from the confident and smug Edward I was used to seeing. Feeling the need to comfort him, I reached out and ran my hand the length of his forearm, eventually taking his hand in mine.

"I would love for you to walk me back," I said reassuringly. His whole face lit up. He squeezed my hand.

"Great, I'll meet you out front?" he asked starting to back away. I nodded.

"Yeah, sounds good," I told him as he continued to walk away from me. "Wait! Edward –" But, before I could warn him, I heard a huge splash. Edward had backed up right into the pool. I couldn't help but laughing as I made my way over to the side of the pool. He had come to the surface and was pushing his hair out of his face.

"You know, it's a good thing you can swim, because we all know I couldn't have saved you," I told him still chuckling. He swam over to the edge.

"Here help me out," he said calmly. I had already caught on.

"I don't think so. I've seen this movie before. You would have pulled me in, and then we both would have been soaked. I'm not falling for that."

"I wouldn't have pulled you in," he said as he pulled him self out of the pool. I felt sorry that he was soaking wet now. I started to walk over to a bench to grab a towel.

"Do you have a change of clothes?" I asked him, handing him the towel. He grimaced.

"No, not with me," he said as he rubbed the towel through his long hair. I started to imagine Edward walking down the busy street soaking wet; what people would be thinking. "What's so funny?" he asked, looking a bit unhappy.

"Nothing," I told him, still smiling. "Cheer up, Edward. You won two gold medals today!"

"Yeah, I know," he seemed eager to get out of his wet clothes. "I'll be back at four." I watched him successfully walk away from me and out the door. I tried for the rest of the afternoon to finish my work quickly, greatly looking forward to seeing Edward again. Doing work did help, before I knew it, it was four o'clock. I collected my bag (and flowers!) and headed out the door. When I stepped out, I noticed Edward just approaching the building.

"Perfect timing," I told him, as we started to walk back to the hotel. There were many stares from people as we walked down the crowded street. Many of them star-struck from seeing Edward Cullen right in front of their eyes and not on the T.V. I jumped a bit when a girl ran in front of us screaming. The excitement was obviously directed at Edward. I couldn't really understand what she was saying but I did hear his name a few times. She shoved a piece of paper in front of him, which he signed after a brief sigh.

We started to walk away and I heard him sigh again. I nudged his side playfully. "That's what you get when you are an famous Olympic swimmer."

"I know," he said causally putting his large arm around my shoulder. I leaned against his side, and, responding to his obvious gesture, I put my arm around his broad waist, feeling the muscles underneath his shirt. "I guess I haven't gotten used to it yet," he continued.

By this time he was swinging open the door to the hotel and leading us into the lobby. Really, I was just along for the ride. We walked past the front desk, where the clerk greeted Edward.

"Mr. Cullen," he said nodding his head. There was some slight uneasiness in his voice that I picked up on. Was it because of me? Probably.

"Bobby." Edward said. I looked up at him, surprised that he bothered to learn the hotel clerks name. He just looked at me like he had no idea what I was talking about. I let it go as we walked on the elevator. This time I noticed that Edward pushed the button for his floor. Fine by me...

He took his arm off of my shoulder (I was getting used to the weight there) and ran his hand slowly down my back before he finally took his hand in my own. I was very proud of myself that I was still standing. Our bodies were still pressed together, which is probably why I had that stupid little grin spread across my face. The doors opened and we walked into his spacious room.

He plopped down on the couch and turned on the T.V. Being me, I just kind of stood there awkwardly. "Well, aren't you going to join me?" he said, like it was expected. I walked slowly over to the large couch and sat down next to him. He put his arm around my shoulder once more, pulling me against him.

"Much better," he whispered seductively in my ear. I rested my head on his shoulder and turned my attention to the T.V. Before we could find something to watch, there was a knock at the door. Edward silently got up and walked quickly towards the door, all the while, I was trying to figure out who it could be. I heard a few words exchanged at the door, I could tell it was a man. Less than a minute later, Edward walked back into the room followed by an older man, probably early fifties. I sat up a little straighter, wondering if Edward would tell me who this is. He didn't get a chance before the man started to talk, or more like yell it was.

"Edward! Who is this?" he demanded, rather impatiently. Edward, who was now standing in front of the T.V., stayed calm.

"Greg, this is Bella. She works for the I.O.C." Greg, I now learned, looked furious.

"Edward, you can not afford to have this kind of distraction right now!" he said raising his voice. And that's when Edward started to get mad.

"And what, exactly," Edward started to say taking a threatening step towards Greg. "Is the distraction?"

"This! Her! Having a girl in your room, when you should be preparing for tomorrow's race!" he yelled gesturing wildly towards me. They both looked at me. I was probably white as a ghost right now. I knew it. I knew deep down this was never a good idea. I knew I wasn't right for him. I didn't fit in.

"Oh, I'm plenty prepared!" Edward scoffed. "I won two gold medals today, in case you missed it!"

"Still, Edward, this is completely irresponsible! You know better than this! You can't let this chance slip away!" That was all I heard, because after that comment, I grabbed my bag and rushed out the door. I heard Edward calling after me as I shut the door behind me. Not wanting to wait for the elevator, I quickly opened the door to the stairs and rushed down them, trying to get to my room as fast as I could.

**Lets remember people that this is a BXE story all the way!! So, don't hate me please.**

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	8. Chapter 8

**You all are seriously amazing. I got 35 reviews for the last chapter!! Thanks so much!! I'm not going to type out everyone who reviewed, but I did respond to each and everyone of you!! Lauren, I know you like finding your name. Can you forgive me? :)**

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Thankfully, I made it back to my room without Edward catching up to me. Had he even come after me? Probably not, because he could definitely out run me. I used my fabulous detective skills to figure out that Greg must have been his coach, or manager. His words just seemed to slice through me; I had a growing knot in my stomach, making me feel a bit sick. I was a distraction. All those times that Edward had come down to see me, it was a bad idea. He needed to focus on the competition.

I was absolutely dreading going to work tomorrow, having to see him. I wondered how he would react. Would he find me, and try to explain? Or ignore me? I was afraid of both possibilities; not knowing how I would react. As much as I loved being around him, the thought of having to confront him about all this really scared me.

I felt a few more tears roll down my flushed cheeks as I made my way back to the door to make sure it was locked. I was sure Edward had a key, how else would he have gotten that cake in here? Desperately needing to de-stress, I decided to take a bath. After I started the water, I went and turned the T.V. on quit loud, not wanting to hear him if he came down here (which I was positive was going to happen).

But, with that thought, I wondered if he even cared. Would he want to see me again, or would he just let all of this go, leaving me heart broken? I shuddered at the thought. Just two days ago, I was thinking just that: I was probably going to walk away from all of this heartbroken.

I tried my best to think about something else. I left the door to the bathroom open, listening very intently to everything that was coming from the T.V., trying not to let my thoughts wander back to Edward. For some odd reason, the last channel the T.V. was on was the Discovery Channel. _Dirty Jobs_ was on, a show incredibly hard to follow when you can't actually see what is being described. I closed my eyes and listened in as best I could, trying to tune out all my other thoughts.

When my hands started to get pruned, I knew it was time to get out. After I dried myself off, I pulled on some sweats and got into bed. Feeling hungry all of the sudden, I pulled the phone off the table next to me and ordered some room service. I did feel a bit silly. I wasn't even going out with this guy, and here I am wallowing away in my hotel room.

I guess it wasn't just what Greg had said. Things could never have worked out between us, and I knew it. He was just so hard to stay away from though. I really couldn't help myself. I should just snap out of and get over him. Unfortunately, I knew that it would not be possible once I saw him tomorrow, in his suit, dripping wet, and winning gold medals. I'll just avoid him, I tried to convince myself. It shouldn't be that hard, it was a huge building. I'll stay in the laundry room, doing my job, like I should be.

Feeling a tad bit better, now that I had my plan (if you can call it that) mapped out for tomorrow. Flipping through the channels, I came across a movie to watch, which kept me semi-occupied until my food came. Hearing the knock at the door, I padded across the room. I looked through the peephole first, to make sure it really was the room service guy and not Edward (or some murderer).

I had ordered my favorites, grilled cheese and fries along with a chocolate shake. Not what most people would call a well balanced meal, but at this point, I really didn't care. Snuggling back under the covers with my food, I was starting to feel a bit better. I shut the light off extremely early that night, hoping that I would come down with the flu before dawn. It didn't work.

The next morning, I was feeling fine (despite the heartache, that is). After pulling on my uniform, I headed out the door, determined to stick to the plan I had laid out for myself last night. The short walk to the pool seemed to take forever today, which gave me ample time to dread the day I had in front of me.

I was fairly sure that Edward only had one race today, so hopefully, he wouldn't be hanging around the building all day. Ugh, this whole situation was really starting to just give me a headache. I wanted so bad to just forget about him, but that was impossible, he was just too delicious.

It was pretty crowded by the time I got there, signaling to me that I must be late (shocker). Not wanting to run into Edward (which was a very good possibility), I quickly made my way to the back, where I threw my things down. There were a huge pile of towels that needed to be washed already in the laundry room, I was told, so I made my way there and shut the door behind me. It was a fairly large room, probably about the size of my hotel room. After putting the first load on and sitting down in a near by chair, I heard loud muffled screams from the stands. I assumed the race had started.

I had an overwhelming desire to sneak out there and see what was happening, but I knew I shouldn't. All of my feelings would come rushing back when I saw him, and I didn't need that. Was this all just an over reaction? I have been hold I am extremely sensitive. Argh, I don't know.

Not knowing the length of this swim, I was just sitting there waiting for the cheers to erupt. And, about a minute later, they did. Judging by the noise, it was probably an extremely close race. I also knew that Edward had won, or they really would not have been cheering like that. I would have to watch it on T.V. tonight to see what all the excitement was about.

And, for the rest of the day, I stayed pretty much in that room, doing the laundry, folding it, and putting the towels out. About two hours after Edwards' race, I did sneak out though, because I was fairly sure that he would be gone. It was still very crowded, due to the upcoming women's races, and Edward was no where to be seen. I could have picked him out in an instant, probably just by his hair.

The rest of the day, went by surprisingly fast, due to the fact that I was doing so much work. Glad to have this day behind me, I grabbed my things and headed back to the hotel, looking forward to being by myself and relaxing. When I arrived at my room, there was something waiting for me. It wasn't cake this time, it was something far better. Sitting on the table next to my bed was a gold medal. _His_ gold medal. The afternoon sun coming in was making it shine, it stood out immensely in my dull room. I was pretty sure I had stopped breathing.

It almost seemed...unreal. Like something fantastical had just made its way into my room. A part of me was afraid to even go near it, unsure of what its meaning was. But, as I did, I noticed a piece of paper sitting beneath it. I slowly approached the table, as if I was afraid that they would both just disappear. Sitting down on the bed, I lifted the heavy medal and set it down next to me extremely carefully. I picked up the note and began to read.

_Bella –_

_I really don't know where to start. I guess I'll start by saying I'm sorry. I really am. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. Greg had no right to say those things. Being my coach, he is only concerned with seeing me succeeding. We have both worked so hard to get to where we are now, and he just doesn't want this oppertunity to slip away._ _I had to explain to him that your presence in my life these past few days is why I am doing so well. I have to tell you that I have never felt like this before, and I am positive that I would not have won these four golds if it wasn't for you, always being there for me. I know that you didn't see the race today, but I'm sure you will tonight. It was extremely close, but thinking of you gave me that extra push I needed, which is why I have left this medal with you. I don't know how I will be able to go for six more medals without you by my side. So, I guess what I am trying to say is, if you would still like to be with me, I'll be waiting._

_Edward _

After I started breathing again, I finally came to terms with what he was saying. He wanted to be with me. Like an official couple (well, at least that's what I was getting from it). I was shocked by what he said. Like he would have lost if I was never in the picture. Yeah, right. It was a great feeling, having someone tell you how much they mean to you in writing. He knew exactly what to say.

Leaning back on the bed, I decided to not go up to his room tonight. We both needed a chance to think things over (that and I didn't want to run into Greg again). And I thought I was actually going to forget Edward. Impossible. I turned on the T.V. wanting to see the race from today. And, shockingly, it popped onto the screen. I only saw about the last ten seconds, but that really was the exciting part. Edward had won by just a fraction of a second. He seemed surprised himself as he pulled off his goggles and looked up at the results. With one last look over at his medal, I fell into a blissful sleep that night, greatly looking forward to seeing Edward tomorrow.

The next morning, with his medal in my pocket, I walked into the Aquatic Center, looking around for Edward. I can not believe I had been so silly yesterday, trying to avoid him. I saw him sitting in front of his lane, hunched over, looking at the ground. I walked over to him, unsure of what I was going to say.

"Something upsetting you, Mr. Cullen?" I asked him, attempting to keep the mood light. He stood up, smiling.

"Yeah, a really great girl got mad at me and I was afraid I had lost her," he said solemnly.

"Well, she's back now. And, I really think you would have won those medals even if we had never met," I told him, trying to get the Edward I knew back. He chuckled, so it must have worked.

"Naw. You're my good luck charm, remember?" Remembering his medal, I pulled it out of my pocket.

"Here," I said, handing it to him. He started to shake his head.

"No, it's fine. You can hold onto it. I've got plenty," he said smugly.

"And more to come, right?" I added.

"Lets hope so," he said, looking out onto the vast pool. Over his shoulder, I could see a few of the swimmers start to drift out of the locker rooms.

"Oh, let me get you a towel," I told him, shoving the medal back in my pocket. I ran over to the laundry room, grabbed one of the many towels I had washed yesterday and made my way back to Edward. "Here you go," I said, putting the towel down on his chair.

"Thanks." He was all ready for his swim. His cap was on, and the rest of the swimmers were in front of the pool.

"Well, I guess I have to go," I said, stepping towards him. He put both his arms around my waist, linking his hands behind my back, pulling me against him. I hope he didn't notice my sharp intake of breath. "But I'll see you after, right?" I asked him trying to keep my voice even. He nodded. I placed my hands on his forearms, feeling the muscles underneath his warm skin. We were standing dangerously close now. "Good luck." I felt the need to whisper, I'm not sure why.

Before I knew it, he was kissing me. I mean, we couldn't break our tradition of good luck kisses. It was soft and gentle, just the thing I would expect from Edward. I removed my hands from his arms and snaked them through his soft hair, forcing him closer to me. After a few more quick kisses, we pulled apart, and he rested his forehead against mine. I moved my hands from his head and lightly touched the length of his chest, something that I had wanted to do for a while now. I could feel his muscles twitch under my fingertips, making me grin.

"You've got to save some of your energy for the pool," I told him, taking both of his hands and lacing them through mine.

"I know," he said, smiling. We were both brought out of our happy little bubble when someone spoke behind us.

"Where's _my_ good luck kiss, sweetheart?" We both looked up. The swimmer to the right of Edward had spoken. Edward put his arm around my waist protectively.

"Shut it, Newton. Besides, she only has so much good luck to go around." Mike laughed.

"Well, we will just have to see how well it works won't we?" he threatened, pulling on his goggles and stepping towards the pool.

"Yes, we will," Edward replied confidently. I heard a whistle blow, signaling for the swimmers to get on the block.

"Oh! I have to go!" I stood on my tiptoes and gave him one last quick kiss, trying to memorize the feeling of his soft lips on mine. I then took my normal spot on the side of the pool. Edward and the others were on the block now. I saw Edward glace over at Mike, his lips in a tight line. I knew Mike's taunting would be all it took to give Edward that extra edge to beat him. With the sound of the horn, I watched Edward as he made a perfect dive into the water.

**So, good? I hope so. **

**Kudos to Bella-with-the-blue-eyes, for calling Michael Phelps 'one of the closest things to God' I have to agree with that!!**

**And, have we all seen the latest cover of SI?? Link on my profile. Check it (only after you review)!! :)**

**Show me some love and review!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to every one who reviewed the last chapter!!**

**Sorry I left you guys so long without an update. I think its been three days. Yikes! Please forgive. **

**Sorry this chapter is so short. Just filler really. Please review!**

This race was short. It was the 100 meter butterfly, and I knew it was going to be another close one. Edward and Mike were even almost the entire race, causing my heart to practically burst out of my chest. About 51 agonizing seconds later, as I watched the both of them touch the wall, I had no idea who had won. It was that close. I turned to look up at the electronic board that displays the results. Relief washed over me as I realized that Edward had won, by less than a half a second.

The entire stadium was going absolutely crazy, no one had any idea how he pulled that off. I don't even think Edward knew. When he came out of the water, there was shock written all over his face. I saw him look over at Mike, who had his face in his hands, obviously very distraught. I have never heard people scream that loud, we were all in awe of what Edward had just pulled off.

I had no time to make my way over to him like I wanted, there were a bunch of people all ready surrounding him, wanting to talk about the race. I just sighed and went to finish a few things before Edward got presented his gold medal. I certainly did not want to miss that. Fifteen minutes later, Edward was on the podium accepting his well deserved medal. There were so many emotions running through his face; it was impossible for me to pick out just one.

I gave me little butterflies to see him up there, he was so dedicated, and everything was paying off for him right now. As soon as the National Anthem was over, and Edward stepped down, he was immediately bombarded again. Smiling to myself, I made my way back to work. I knew how much Edward hated talking to the press, I just hoped he would get through it in one piece.

It was another boring day, but having Edward to look forward to got me through it. It felt like such a weight of my shoulders, having our stupid little fight resolved. Or, I guess it was more like me breaking down than an actual fight. Edward really didn't do anything, it was just me over-reacting. I decided that I would be the one to go up and see Edward today, for he was always coming to me.

When I got back to my room, I took a quick shower, wanting to get the horrid smell of chlorine off of me. After I had changed my clothes, I practically skipped up to his room. I secretly crossed my fingers that Greg would be no where around tonight. Edward had told me in the note that he had explained everything to Greg, so I wasn't too worried. I rapped on Edwards door a few times and waited for him to answer. Just a second or two later, like he was standing right by the door, he opened it.

I was again stuck by his perfect form. I thought I would have gotten used to it by now, but still, he never ceased to make my knees weak. After reading so many books and seeing so many movies of people coming across the perfect person for them, I never thought that I would be experiencing it for myself. And, as he swung open the door, I knew that he was my perfect person. Was it love at first sight? Thinking back to my first day here, when I first saw him in the lobby, it probably wasn't love. I was simply in awe of his perfection.

As he was standing there, in the doorway, I did something that was completely out of character for me. Before he could even say anything, I took both of my hands and gently placed them on either side of his head. I kissed him passionately, wondering why I had waited so long to do this. I felt his large arms make there way around my waist, much like he had done this morning. Breathing in his intoxicating scent, I found that I could not form a rational thought.

We both needed air, I felt his soft lips smile beneath mine as he pulled away. He again rested his forehead on mine. "Congratulations," I told him, not getting the chance to this morning.

"Thank you." I felt his hot breath tickle my mouth. He gave me another kiss before reaching to close the door. "Although," he told me, taking my hand as we walked through his living room. "Like I told you, I couldn't have done it without you." He looked down at me with a small smile.

"And, like I've told you, I find that very hard to believe." Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I came along, and I just happened to be in that elevator that day." He smiled and put his arm around my waist.

"Yes," he agreed. "A very good thing." He sweetly kissed the top of my head. We walked outside onto the patio; it was a beautiful night, with just a soft wind blowing. The view of the city was spectacular from up here, enough to take your breath away. I walked across the smooth wood to the railing, where I rested my arms. I felt his body press up against my back, wrapping his arms around me, and taking my hands in his. I could smell that faint lingering of chlorine on him, but I decided then that I enjoyed the smell.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" His face was right next to mine, his chin practically resting on my shoulder. I was surprised I could even answer, being sandwiched between him and the railing and all.

"Very,"I whispered. We stayed like that for another immeasurable moment, watching as the sun slowly dipped beneath the horizon.

"C'mon, you must be hungry," he said, taking my hand and leading me back inside. I still was in shock that I could have ever gotten so lucky. In a daze, I sat down on the plush couch while Edward made his way to the kitchen. I could see him from where I sat; he was on the phone. Ordering food? Perhaps.

He walked back into the living room, where he sat down next to me. An idea suddenly dawned on me. "Are you afraid to go outside?" I asked him. He looked at me in disbelief, but as soon as he did, I knew it was true. "You are! I knew it. That's why we always eat in!" I said, turning to him.

"Ok, fine. Maybe a bit," he admitted. "You know how much I hate those reporters. They are always following me around. It's annoying. And why go out when you can stay in? We would be doing the exact same thing," he tried to reason with me.

"I guess you're right," I said ducking my head to rest on his shoulder. "But, I'm not staying too late, I want you to rest and be ready for tomorrow."

"Fair enough." I could hear the smile in his voice, which of course, made me smile as well. Funny how those things work. One of the best things about being with Edward, I had come to realize, was that we were both perfectly comfortable in silence. Just enjoying being with each other was enough; there was no need for a constant conversation. It was one of the best things I had every experienced, just being able to lie in his arms.

When the food came, I saw that it was Chinese tonight; he seemed to know all of my eating habits by now. "So, tell me," I began as I opened one of the many boxes. "When am I going to meet your family?" I noticed him shift a bit in his seat.

"Tomorrow," he told me slowly. "After my race, I'll introduce you." He seemed very uncomfortable talking about this.

"I'm sorry. Didn't you say that I could meet them?" Maybe I shouldn't have brought this up. He set his food down.

"I do. Its just...I've never introduced anyone to my parents. So, I'm just not really sure how they're going to react." It also was like he was nervous...which is odd. Competing for gold medals? Sure no problem. But introducing a girl to his parents...I had to laugh a bit at the thought. I looked at him intently. He continued. "I mean there has been a few girls over the years, but never like this. No one ever who meant this much to me."

I leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and gently stroked his cheek, trying to comfort him. "I'm sure it will be fine," I told him, as I handed him back his food.

"I know," he said, stirring his food around absentmindedly. When we finished dinner, I declared to him that I was leaving; I wanted him to have plenty of rest for the next day. He let me go, and told me he was heading to bed, just like I wanted him to. I did not want my presence to detract from the competition.

As I walked down to my room, I contemplated what Edwards family might be like. Would they like me? That was probably the more important question I should be asking. I mean, they should, I'm a pretty likeable person. Lets just hope I don't make a fool out of my self. Gosh, I was nervous. It was a first for me too. I had never grown close enough to some one to take that step.

Lying in bed that night, I just decided to have a little confidence in myself and not worry about it. It would be fine. My self proclaimed change in attitude must have worked, since I fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, as I stumbled out of bed, I remembered what Edward had told me last night. He was probably just, if not more, nervous than I am. Plus, on top of it, he was competing for a gold medal. Sometimes I wondered how he did it. Day after day, all the stress; he handled it all beautifully. I think I heard talk of a gymnast from France having some sort of breakdown...

Reaching the pool in record time, (it _might_ have been my need to see him, but who's to say for sure) I spotted Edward in front of the pool as always. Looking as stunning as ever, he was pulling off his shirt, exposing the tight suit that lay underneath. You think I would be used to this by now.

Blushing a bit, I made my way over to him, clutching my bag to my side. "Hey," he said as he noticed me in front of him. He leaned down to give me kiss, which I was lost in until he pulled away. "I swear I've been swimming better since we have been together."

"Well, I hope so. I think it would put a strain on our relationship if you were swimming worse," I told him, some what honestly. He smiled.

"So," he said taking my hands in his. "I thought you could meet my family after the race. They'll all be here."

"Yes, of course. That sounds great," I told him, hoping he wasn't as nervous as last night about all of this. "Ok, I should go, I feel like I'm getting in the way here," I said looking around, uneasily. And, it was true. I did feel like I was always getting in the way down here. After a few good luck kisses, I made my way to the stands today, not feeling like just standing on the sides.

"Excuse me?" I heard a female voice behind me. "Are you Bella?"

**Please review and let me know what you think.**

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	10. Chapter 10

**I am so so sorry for the wait. I think it has been almost a week. School started last week, so that was a bit crazy. Plus, I was in kind of a crappy mood this weekend. And that is not inducive to writing a story like this. Lucky I had some cheering up this afternoon. So here we are, I have never finished a chapter this fast. I guess that's what happens when you go a week without writing. It justs comes easier.**

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!**

**There have been a couple been in particular who have been extremely supportive and encouraging of my writing. You know who you are! Thanks so much!**

I spun my head around to look at this mysterious person who just happened to know my name. Right off the bat, that put me on edge. She was standing just one row above me, but I still had stare up at her, like I had to do so often with Edward. She was very pretty, her long black hair flowed passed her shoulder, not a hair out of place. Odd, for this humid climate. I was probably a mess right now. Well, at least Edward didn't seem to notice.

She was looking at me curiously, but she seemed to have a kind face. "Yes?" I asked her very hesitantly. Why was I acting like this? Another problem for another time I told myself. She held out her hand for me to shake. It was then that I noticed how she was dressed. She was wearing a suit with a lavender shirt under it. It definitely stood out here, with the scorching weather outside and all. Maybe she was a lawyer, or something. That doesn't make any sense, what had I done? Unless flirting with a really handsome swimmer was a crime. I smiled at the thought.

I took her hand and shook it. "Hello, my name is Joanne. I work for the Post. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." She had a big smile on her face as she tilted her head to the side, awaiting my response. My mouth was a gape. My brain worked fast enough to realize that this was all about Edward.

"Hi." It was all I managed to spit out. She seemed to take this as a hint that I might be cooperative, for she reached into her bag to pull out a small notebook. "So, how long have you and Edward been going out?" Her pen was poised, ready to write.

"Ummm." Another brilliant response from me. Would Edward want me to say anything? We should have talked about this. He would probably wanted to keep this private. He wasn't the type to boast, I knew that already. While I was debating with myself, I heard the signal go off and a large splash of the water. Oh, crap, I had missed the beginning of the race! She hadn't looked away from me.

With an slight groan and an eye roll directed at her, I turned around to watch the race. With the swimmers already in the water, I was impossible to know which one was Edward, especially from this angle. I decided to just wait it out, he name would be flashing across the large screen in a few moments any way.

I was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with this strange lady behind me. I could just feel her watching me as I cheered Edward on (not that he needed it). Was that the scribble of her pen? What could she be writing? It's true, Edward had been on the cover of the Post every day since the start of the Games (and the start of his winning). He was making history here, it should have been no shock to me that would be covering his story from all angles. I could see them having an editors meeting now; some burly old man pointing at Joanne. "You! Find out who he's dating!" Yikes.

That still didn't explain how she knew my name. Well, she was a journalist, right? It was her job to know things like that. Less than a minute later, exactly like I had predicted, Edward had won, and was looking up at the monitor to see his time. He couldn't just win, he had to have beaten the record too. He did; and when realized this a triumphant smile spread across his face. He looked over at me, I was actually pretty surprised that he could find me amid the masses of people, and smiled. It was enough, no need for a showy display of affection. I knew it, and he knew it too, and that was enough.

He turned to get out of the pool, and I realized that I would have to turn around again and face Miss. I-want-to-know-everything-about-your-personal-life. I should have been expecting this really. Oh well, here we go.

I turned around, bracing myself for what was about to come. She was still looking rather intently at me. Did she even look up to watch the race? Why would she? I am _so_ much more interesting and important. I looked down at her notebook. Two pages were flipped over the side, completely filled already. What was she writing? I touched one of them with my hand trying to flip it over so I could read it. Her hand was suddenly in the way.

"Now, now, Bella. Wouldn't you rather read it in the paper along with everybody else?" she asked me like I was a child. No! I wanted to shout at her. I wanted to know what was being said about me before thousands of people were reading it. Maybe it was best to just put this all off. I did have the small matter of meeting Edward's family to deal with.

"Listen, I have to get back to work, so maybe you could give me your card?" She looked a bit disappointed, but it was gone in an instant. She knew she still had a story to get. No sense in being mad with the person who your story was counting on. She reached into her bag again, and pulled out her card. I took it, wondering what else was in that bag. I probably didn't want to know. "Thanks," I told her a bit impatiently.

"Sure, Bella. We will be in touch." She almost sounded a bit threatening. Ok, this conversation was over. I walked away, anxious to see Edward, to be in his arms, where things were always good. I hung out on the side while the Medal Ceremony was going on, trying to hide from Joanne. He was just finishing an interview when I found him later. He walked over to me, with that same smile on his face, my smile. Gosh, I certainly had become very possessive. But, who can blame me? Have you seen this guy?! I mean, I'm surprised there aren't a small band of teenage girls following him around every where he goes.

He large arms snuck around my waist, as he pulled me against his rock hard chest. Ahhh. I tried my best to freeze this moment in time, but it didn't work. He pulled away just to kiss my cheek, when the strong smell of chlorine hit me. My new favorite smell. I pulled away a bit so I could look into his eyes, so soft and kind.

"I would say congratulations, but I feel like that's not enough." He kissed me. Oh gosh, he smelled good. He lips and face were warm from the water, making me go weak in the knees. He pulled away too soon, and gave me a small chuckle.

"That's ok. This is much better than just 'congratulations,'" he told me, as he rested his forehead against mine. "Anyone can tell me that. But, only you can give me this." He kissed me again, sweetly. Oh gosh, this guy is simply perfect.

I didn't want to spoil the mood, but I had to tell Edward about the reporter. "We need to talk about something." He must have taken this the wrong way, for his arms loosened from around me, like he was going to pull away. "No!" I grabbed onto his arms, securing him against me. "It's nothing bad, don't worry. It's just this reporter that approached me before the race." I watched his face, it went from shock to a bit confused. I continued. "She wanted to know..." I trailed off, not knowing what to tell him. I rested my hands on his chest, absentmindedly running my fingers up and down.

"Bella, what is it?" He looked down, drying to catch my gaze. His smooth and chiseled chest was far more interesting than talking about _her_. I didn't look up at him, not yet. Gosh, there I was again, all afraid of talking to people. I should try to get over that.

"She wanted to know." I started slowly. "About us, how long we had been going out. She works for the Post. They're writing an article about us." I looked up at him. There was a small smile on his perfect lips. Was I just being silly?

"And, you wanted to know what you should tell her." Oh, he's good. I nodded. "You tell her only what you want to, ok? If you're comfortable with telling her everything, that's fine by me. Or, nothing at all. What ever you want." He started to rub my back soothingly. He's really, really good. I leaned into his chest and he wrapped his arms tighter around me, if that was even possible. After a few more immeasurable moments, he pulled away, talking both his hands in mine.

"So, are you still up to meeting my family?" I felt like such a wimp. It's not like I was put through some traumatic experience today. Ahhh! Reporters! I needed to toughen up.

"Yes, of course," I said, giving him a genuine smile, hoping he would forget my little freak out. He exhaled loudly.

"Oh, that's good. Because they've been watching us for the last five minutes."

"What?!" I was shocked. Really shocked. Oh god, this was embarrassing.

"Yeah, they're just right there," he said pointed to the stands not too far from where I had been standing. There were six of them, some smiling brightly, and others looked slightly bored, or maybe even upset. I had only enough time to gather that information before I turned back to Edward.

"You knew they were there?" I asked him softly. "We were making out in front of your family..." His fingers traced down the length of my arm, trying to calm me with his touch. It worked, of course.

"Oh, Bella. Don't be silly. It's fine." He laughed, and turned his body towards the stands. "They will be so happy to finally meet you," he whispered in my ear, then giving me a quick kiss on the neck.

"What do you mean finally?" We were walking slowly towards them. Well, he was walking, I was just being pulled along.

"I've told them all about you of course! How could I not?" he said dropping his voice. I looked up at him, still trying to take all of this in. By that time, we were standing right in front of his rather large family. His mother stepped forward.

"Bella, it is so nice to finally meet you." She hugged me, which caught my by surprise. "Edward has told us so much about you." I looked up at Edward again, wanting an explanation. He just looked like he had no idea what I was getting at. Of course.

"Bella, this is my mother, Esme." Before I knew it, a man who looked far to young to be Edwards father was standing right next to Esme. He wrapped his arm around her waist. "And this is my father, Carlisle." Carlisle nodded.

"It's a pleasure, Bella." Seeing his mother and father right next to each other, I could suddenly see where Edward got his stunning looks from. Well, they seemed nice enough. How could they not? Raising such an amazing guy like Edward and all...

I felt Edward hand on the small of my back. It sent a rush of calmness through my whole body. He was there for me, and he always would be. That simply gesture was all it took for me to know.

I looked over Carlisle's shoulder, anxious to see what his siblings were like. Edward knew right away of course. "And, Bella, these are my siblings, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice." He pointed to each of them, so I knew who was who. Naturally, they were all very beautiful, making me feel rather insignificant. They smiled and waved.

"It's nice to meet you all," I said politely. There was an awkward silence for a moment, but Esme, bless her, spoke up.

"Well, Edward, I'm sure you're tired," she said in a very motherly way. "How about we'll all meet up for dinner later?" Edward looked down at me, wondering if it was ok. I nodded.

"Yeah, sure, Mom. That sounds great."

"Fabulous! It was nice to meet you Bella," she said as they all started to walk away.

"Likewise." I told her. After they all had left I sank into Edward chest. It was just so...nice and comforting.

"See," he said stroking my hair. "That wasn't so bad."

"I know." I sighed. "I should get back to work." I stood up to kiss him.

"So, you'll come by, when I get off work?" I asked him.

"Of course, " he said smiling. He took my hand and kissed it, before he walked past the pool and out the door. Did I mention how good he was??

**Awww, Bella loves the smell of chlorine coming from her hot swimmer sweetheart. She used to hate it remember? **

**Ok, review please!!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Again, sorry for the wait. Another week of school is behind me. Phew. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Not as many as chapters past...maybe because of the wait. I don't know...anyway, on with the show!**

**Please review! Btw, longest chapter yet!!**

The next few hours pasted in a daze. My thoughts constantly drifted back towards Edward, or his family. I guess I was still a little self conscious about being with such an amazing guy, due to my obvious plainness. Nothing terribly spectacular going on here...

What really did Edward see in me? I thought about it a lot. I know I probably shouldn't, but I had to wonder. I haven't had the opposite sex trailing after me my entire life like he has, it was an odd feeling to have. I guess sometimes love just pops up right beside you, when you least expect it. Was this love? Was I in love with Edward Cullen? I don't know. I have never had such a strong connection with someone before. Only time will tell.

Oh, how I hoped and prayed that everything would go smoothly tonight. Leave it up to me to trip over my own two feet. Edward would be by my side the entire night, so I knew it would be fine.

The thought of what would happen when the Games were over still loomed over me. Would he be perfectly content with just walking away and moving on with his life? Why would I think such thing? Edward was too much of a gentleman to do that to me. Still, I wondered what was going through his head. I know I promised myself that I would save this conversation until the Games were over, but I don't think I could wait that long.

I would have to do it tonight, when we were done dinner. I felt a knot start to form in my stomach at just the thought of having to bring this up with him. But, it had to be done, for both of our sakes. I just had to keep my cool during dinner, and then I could talk to Edward later in the evening. I took a deep breath. No problem, I thought.

I continued my work diligently for the rest of the day, feeling a bit bad about all the times I had skipped out of it to watch Edward race, or receive his gold medals. Towards the end of the day, I felt two arms sneak around my waist from behind. I knew these arms well. I felt his chin rest lightly on my shoulder, the length of his toned body pressed up against me. Ahhh, I could stay like this for a long, long time.

"I missed you," he whispered before he placed a soft kiss at the base of my neck. I was way too out of it to respond, so I just laid back into his chest, letting him hold me. I really could get used to this...I think I already was. I dropped the towel I was holding and rested my hands on his forearms.

"We should do this more often," he said. I laughed at this, and patted his arm, turning around. Much to my delight, his arms stayed firmly locked around my waist. He kissed my forehead, burning the skin there.

I smiled. "I think that can be arranged," I told him, trailing my fingers down his chest. When I quicky glanced over my shoulder and out the door, I noticed the sky starting to get dark. I realized how late it was really getting. "So, what time do we have to meet your parents?"

"Uhh, in about two hours. So, we're swimming in time." A sly little smile pulled across his face as he pulled me closer to him, if that was even possible. He bent down and gave me a gentle kiss. His warm lips on mine felt even better than I remembered. I felt him smile against my lips. He pulled away just enough to look into my eyes.

"What is it?" I asked him quietly. He removed one of his arms from around my waist only to place it on my cheek. He gently stroked the side of my face, never looking away from me.

"I was just thinking...how in the world did I get so lucky?"

"I know...five gold medals in just a few days..." He threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"Silly girl, I wasn't talking about the medals. I was talking about you. And, how lucky I feel that we met that fateful day. Really, I could care less about the medals. What I'm going to remember from my time here is that I met you." I kissed his hand, which was still resting on the side of my face. He grabbed my hand, and I suddenly missed the warmth of his skin on my face.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked me.

"Yeah, sure. Let me just go grab my bag." I turned my body away from him as I started to let go of his hand. But I couldn't. He had just grabbed on to my hand tighter. I looked up at him. He took a step forward.

"You know, I'm not planning on letting you go for the rest of the night," he whispered seductively in my ear before kissing my cheek. As soon as I started breathing again, I walked towards the side of the pool, Edward right by my side. Fine by me.

Ten minutes later, we were back in the hotel elevator. Mmm, the elevator again. I really did love this elevator. I rested my head on his chest, hoping he didn't see me blush. His arm was tightly around my back, holding me against him once more. The elevator doors opened and I saw that we were on my floor. I turned to step out, and of course, Edward was right by my side.

"Don't you want to go up and get changed yourself?" I asked him as I was opening my door. He smiled.

"Why don't you grab some clothes and you can change in my room?" He had this all planned out. He was being a bit silly if you ask me. What was I saying?! I never wanted to be without him. From now on, it wasn't just going to be him who was not letting go tonight.

"Ok, come in." I held open the door for him. I made my way to the dresser, while he stood casually up against the wall. I hard time picking out the appropriate clothes. I really had not brought anything dressy. After a few minutes of going through all my clothes, I threw my hands up in the air.

"I have nothing to wear!" I exclaimed with a sigh. Edward slowly walked over to me and took my hand in his.

"That's fine. I think I can help you," he said tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear. He had an incredibly sexy grin on his face. "C'mon," he told me, walking towards the door once again. When we were approaching his door a couple of minutes later, I had to know what was going on.

"Edward, what are you up to?" I asked him a bit impatiently. As we crossed the airy entrance way, he looked down at me.

"Well, I knew that you probably wouldn't have something appropriate for tonight...so I took it upon my self to get you something." He opened the door to his bedroom. I suddenly remembered the feeling I had waking up in that bed...Edward wasn't there though. But still, it was an amazing night. I was brought back to reality when Edward led us into the spacious master bathroom.

I was greeted with the sight of an amazing black dress. It was simple, elegant, and not too revealing, just the sort of thing I would pick out for myself. He knew me much better than I thought. "Do you like it?"

"It's amazing Edward, thank you." He kissed the top of my head. "Did you really pick this out your self?" Edward was really good, but no guy was _this_ good.

"I may have some help." I looked up at him skeptically. "Ok, fine. I told my sister about you. And, she seemed to know exactly what to pick out."

"Hey, what a minute. If you knew I had nothing to wear, why did you just stand there and let me go through all of my clothes like that?" I asked him with shock and maybe a little bit of anger in my voice.

"Because you looked so darn cute doing it. I've noticed...when you get frustrated, your face kind of squishes up and you get this little crease right here." He touched the middle of my forehead. "It's extremely adorable," he told me like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Don't be mad at me." He ducked his head a bit so he could look right into my eyes.

This time, I touched my hand to his cheek. "No, I could never be," I told him. He kissed me sweetly.

"Ok, I'm going to go, so you can shower and get dressed. Don't take too long," he said pouting a bit. I laughed quietly.

"Don't worry, I won't." He stepped out of the bathroom and I shut the door softly behind him. After a nice long shower, I put on the dress that he had bought me. It fit like a glove. It came down to about my knee and swished when I walked. I turned around so I could see how the back looked. I have to say, I did look pretty good. Which is saying something, because I think the last time I was in a dress was when I was fifteen and at my cousins wedding. I try not to think about that night.

After drying my hair and putting a bit of makeup on, I made my way out into Edward's bedroom. I felt the soft plush carpet in between my toes. My feet...oh, I had no shoes! Crap. "Looking for these, Miss?" Edward was standing directly behind me dangling a pair of black high heels in my face.

"Thanks," I said, feeling like it wasn't enough. I took them from him and sat on the large bed to put them on. Looking at Edward, standing in front of me, I noticed what he was wearing. His blue button down shirt fit him perfectly and he pulled off simple black pants better than anyone I had ever seen. So simple, yet so delicious at the same time. Did I just call Edward delicious? Ok, Bella...

A while later, we arrived a beautiful Chinese restaurant. It was upscale, definitely. It was dark inside (as most fancy restaurants are...something about the mood, pfft), with glowing red lights everywhere. He lead me to the back of the restaurant where I saw the rest of his family had already arrived. We said our hellos and took a seat.

Dinner was truly amazing. Edwards family were so easy to get along with and conversation flowed the entire night. Of course, they all wanted to know how Edward and I met; I let him tell that story. The food was delicious, of course. I didn't even look at the prices, knowing that I would be shocked and then probably not want to eat. I got to know his siblings, and I made sure to thank Alice especially for picking out my dress.

There was an outdoor bar looking over the city, which Edward took my to when we were done dinner. We stood together, at the railing looking out over the city. It was an even better view than the one from Edward's room, if that was possible.

I really didn't want to have to do this, especially after the amazing evening we had just had. But I just couldn't put it off any longer. I turned to him.

"Edward, I wanted to talk to you about something." He turned to me, alarm present on his perfect face. "No, don't worry, it's nothing bad." I think...

"What is it?" he asked, taking both my hands.

"I just started to think a couple of days ago...about what was going to happen...you know, after the Olympics are over. What was going to happen between us. I mean, you don't live here, so..." I was cut off when he placed his finger to my lips.

"Bella," he said slowly. "Do you think I'm just going to leave you?" I did not answer, I only looked up at him with sad eyes.

"I hope you know that I could never do that. I really don't have to go anywhere. In fact, now that I think about it, maybe I will stay here."

"Edward, you can't just pick up and move here. What about your training?"

"Shhh. Bella, tell me, do they have pools here?" I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. "Yes, they do don't they." He was smiling now too. "I'm going to stay. There is something very special to me here." He kissed the top of my head. "Don't you worry about that anymore."

"I won't. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's fine." I leaned into his chest. "You must be tired. Let's go back to the hotel." Of course, Edward was worried about me being tired. He was the one that had swam an Olympic race today. What did I do today? Nothing really.

Edward was right, by the time the elevator doors opened, I was very tired. He was practically carrying me. Not that I minded...I realized that we were in Edward's bedroom. "Why didn't you drop me off at my room?" I asked him, while he was rummaging through his dresser.

"Bella, I told you, I'm not letting go. Ever. Especially after you thought that I would just leave you here," he told me shaking his head. "Here's some clothes, why don't you go change." He started to lead me to the bathroom.

"Thanks." I scooted out of my dress and hung it up. I pulled on his clothes. He had given my a white undershirt and a pair of boxers, both of which were very large on me. Again, I didn't mind. They smelled like Edward, which was extremely comforting. After I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, I opened the door to find Edward putting some of his clothes away.

He didn't have a shirt on, only boxers, very similar to the ones that I was wearing. Can you say distracting? When he saw me, he walked over and kissed my cheek. "Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" Was he speaking French? Oh god...

"You do know what you're saying right?" I looked at him with disbelief.

"C'mon, you know what I mean," he said with a smile. He went over to the bed and pulled down the covers before getting in. I, with out a moments hesitation, climbed in after him. I snuggled up against his hard chest. He put his arm around me, slowly stroking my back.

"Goodnight, Isabella."

"Goodnight Edward," I told him as a kissed his chest, right over his heart.

**Ok, now I'm really in the mood for some Chinese food...and some Edward. Hehe. Ok, sorry...**

**Sorry for any mistakes, I'm very tired. :P**

**A French speaking Edward...love it.**

**Isn't it depressing, a real guy would never say those things (at least no one that I've come across), only Edward. Oh gosh, where is my Edward? Sighs impatiently**

**You know the drill, please review!! And, wish me luck on my French quiz tomorrow. :P**

**Lots of Love, Luck, and Laughter,**

**Lenore**


	12. Chapter 12

**Yay, another chapter. Sorry for the wait. Just so everyone knows, this story is probably only going to be another one or two chapters long, I'm not sure yet. **

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!!**

The gentle morning light streaming in through the glass doors awoke me the following morning. It was pure bliss, getting up that morning, in his bed, in his arms. I couldn't ask for anything more. I was smiling to myself before I even opened my eyes. His chest had served as my pillow for the night, much better than your average pillow, let me tell you. As I awoke, I ran my hand up and down the smooth hard planes of his chest, hoping that I wouldn't wake him. He just looked too irresistible, laying there, still sleeping, for me to keep my hands to myself.

I had fallen asleep quickly last night, and I hope Edward had the same luck. He had two races today, but they weren't until the afternoon, which was good. I did feel a bit guilty that he had to stay out last night, so it made me happy that he was getting some extra sleep in. Pretty soon though, he wouldn't have to worry about that. He already had five medals, just five more to go. Edward only had three days left of competition, and then he was free to do as he pleases for the remainder of the Games.

With the new found knowledge that Edward would be staying here in D.C., I grew nervous about what would happen between us after all the excitement of the Games had died down. I had never been in a serious relationship like this before; I guess that I was just a bit uneasy about what it would be like from day to day; without the Games to distract us. What would it be like? I would have to go back to school in a couple of months, would Edward get bored here?

All of these unknowns made me groan a bit. I was always the type of person that liked things to be mapped out in front of me. Just drifting along and seeing what would happen was definitely not for me. If Edward could read my mind right now, I bet he would just tell me to stop worrying. We were together, that was the most important thing. Everything else would work its self out.

My internal monologue was cut short when I felt his warm hand on mine; holding it still on his stomach. I looked up at him, to see that his eyes were sill closed. With a smile, I leaned up and kissed him, knowing that he was awake. After a short second, he kissed me back, rolling me over, so I was beneath him. His whole body was pressed up against me, while his lips were anxious against mine.

"What a marvelous way to wake up," he said after pulling away. I just laughed as he kissed down my neck and collarbone, before he rested _his_ head on _my _chest. He sighed. I ran my fingers through his long hair, loving how soft and untamed it was. I could feel his warm breath across my neck; his chest rising and falling against my own.

"Are you still awake?" I asked him softly. I pulled the hair out of his face so I could see him better. I saw the smile on his lips that he was trying to hold back.

"Of course I am," he told me, his smile growing. "How could I sleep when you are playing with my hair like that? Its feels so good. I wanted to enjoy it. I'm sure I would have fallen asleep eventually," he said with a slight chuckle.

"I'm sorry. It's just that-" He cut me off.

"No, Bella, don't be. I like it." I kissed me, and I knew that this discussion was over. "Do you know what time it is?"

"It's almost ten," I told him, looking over his shoulder to the clock on the wall. He climbed out of the bed and held out his hand for me.

"Super, so we have time for breakfast," he said with excitement. Where did all this sudden energy come from? Well he is an Olympic swimmer, energy is probably his middle name.

I grabbed his hand and he led us into the kitchen. On our way down the hall, we passed a mirror, and I caught a glace at my reflection. My hair was going all different directions, I was just simply a mess. I stopped. "What it is?" Edward asked me.

"Would you excuse me for just a minute?" He looked pretty confused, but I didn't want to explain. I slid into the bathroom that was adjoined to the living room. Opening up one of the drawers, I can across a brush, thank goodness. I pulled it through my tangled hair, before tying it up in a ponytail. After taking care of that situation, I brushed my teeth and splashed some water on my face. Feeling much better, I gave myself one last look over, before heading out into the kitchen.

Edward was setting some things on the counter when he noticed me come in. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said as I jumped up on one of the counters separating the kitchen from the living room. I was actually surprised about how big this kitchen was, for a hotel that is. I mean, how much cooking would you do if you were staying in a hotel? Although, it looked like Edward was about to do some. He cooks too...oh gosh.

He was searching through the cabinets for something. "You're not going to cook, are you?" He looked over at me, from across the kitchen.

"Do you have a problem with that?" he asked me, smiling.

"Yes, you have two races today. You should be resting. Let me cook for you." He started to shake his head before I was even finished my sentence.

"I've got hours before the race. Plus I just had the best nights sleep of my life. I don't need to rest." He found was he was looking for, a skillet, and started to walk back over to me. "How about this, let me cook for you, but you can help. Fair?"

He was standing right in front of me now, at my eye level, something I wasn't used to with him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I wrapped my legs around his torso, just itching to be as close to him as possible. He kissed my shoulder, making his way up my neck, before he whispered in my ear. "Is that fair, Isabella?" Oh gosh, there he goes using my full name again. My breathing was ragged at this point, something just happens to me when he is close.

I couldn't take the teasing anymore. I grabbed his face with my hands and kissed him, while his hands grew tighter across my waist. His lips were gentle against mine, unlike this morning. I didn't mind. I felt my body being lifted off the cold counter, and I gripped myself tighter to him. Like he would drop me...please. I pulled away, burying my head at the crook of his neck, giving him a kiss there. "Ah, Bella."

I could only imagine how silly we looked right now, standing in the middle of his kitchen, him holding me like this. He spoke again. "Are we ready for breakfast?" I brought my head up to look at him, my hands still securely locked around his neck.

"Yes, what are we having?" I asked him, looking at the pile of food on the counter, hoping that would somehow give me a clue.

"I was thinking eggs? If that's fine with you, and maybe some french toast?"

"Yes, that sounds perfect." The grin on his face probably mirrored the one on mine.

"So, do you think you're ready to get down?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry about that." I was probably blushing three different shades of red right now.

"Bella, will you stop apologizing! I absolutely love having you next to me like this! Why do you think I slept so well last night?" Before I had a chance to respond, he gave me another heart stopping kiss. I felt his strong hands travel down to my waist. He lowered me smoothly onto the ground before turning to the counter to get the food started.

"What can I do?" I asked him, not forgetting that he had promised I could help.

"Um, how about you slice up some strawberries?" He handed me the berries and a knife. I turned around to the opposite counter and began to slice. Such a simple task grew increasingly difficult when every time Edward would pass by, he would stop and kiss my neck or rub my back.

"Edward, I'm going to cut my self if you keep distracting me like that." He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it. You just look so tempting this morning. Standing here, im my clothes, helping me make breakfast...I just love it." He placed a kiss at the base of my neck before turning back to the stove. Fifteen minutes later we were sitting on the couch together eating while watching the morning news. Did I mention Edward is an amazing cook? Well, he is. Add that to his list of fabulous qualities. Of course the news was all about the Olympics, but Edward didn't seem to mind this morning.

When we were done, I snuggled up to his chest as he wrapped his arm around me. Suddenly his face flashed up onto the screen. The reporter was talking about Edward upcoming two races today. "Speaking of swimming...I should probably head down to the pool soon." He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before getting up.

"I should probably go get ready for work anyway," I said, grabbing my bag. "Thanks for breakfast."

"Anytime. Thanks for staying with me last night."

"Anytime." He kissed me goodbye and I made my way down to my room. I was so happy that Edward and I were able to spend the morning together, luckily his races weren't scheduled until the afternoon. After a shower, I changed into my uniform (ugh) and headed out the door. I really shouldn't have been surprised when I saw him leaning up across the wall from my door.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, like I didn't already know. He smiled.

"I thought we could walk down together. What do you say?" He held out his hand, which look so very inviting.

"Sounds good." I took his hand and we made our way to the elevator. "Are you nervous?" I asked him as the elevator started to move. He shrugged those very broad shoulders of his.

"No, not really. I've already got five races behind me right? Plus, I don't have any real competition in this race anyway. It will go fine," he said, the tone in his voice made it sound like he was trying to reassure himself more than me.

"Yes, it will. And, I'll be there after, to congratulate you," I told him with a smile.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." We headed out into the expansive lobby. I had to move quickly to keep up with his long strides. The D.C. air was muggy and hot today, as usual. It took a moment to get used to, since the lobby was so cool and refreshing.

Not ten minutes later, we had arrived at the pool. Edward didn't have to much time before his first race, so I let him go get ready. I made sure everything was ready for the days races before I brought some towels out for Edward and the other swimmers.

"Hey, thanks," he said as he took the towel from my hands. He seemed very calm, I guess what he told me in the elevator was true. He wasn't nervous, but I was still incredibly nervous for him. I gave him our routine good luck kiss (but it was much more passionate than kisses past) and made my way to my usual spot on the side of the pool.

A little over an hour later, Edward had claimed two more gold medals, just as I knew he would. Just as the whole world seemed to know. There was just no stopping him. I had a feeling Edward just wanted to get all of this over with, to get the spotlight off of him. He had one race tomorrow and then he last two the day after. And, if he did as well as everyone expected him to do, he will make history. Ten gold medals during one Olympics. Unheard of, until now.

During the medal ceremony, his eyes met mine, and I knew, right at that moment that everything was going to work out just fine. I didn't have to worry about what the future held for us. Not now. Now, we both were enjoying his accomplishments of the day. Just the way that he looked at me at that moment; I felt like I had been waiting forever for a man to look at me like that. And, here he was, standing right in front of me.

**I didn't really like this chapter too much, so let me know what you think.**

**Please review!!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Whoo Hooo! Go me. Another chapter. And, I'm going to try super duper hard to post the last chapter tonight. I know...sigh. **

**So, _bballcg,_ I have to know. You added my story to your alerts and favorites and you added me to you favorite author and alerts (thanks!). But, you don't review!! Why?! It's been bugging me...**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!! I really appreciate it. You guys rock!**

The following morning, my ringing of my cell phone awoke me. I reached over to the table next to my bed (I know, I slept in my own bed...shocker), wondering who would be calling me so early.

"Hello?" I answered groggily, turning back into bed, trying to get comfortable again.

"Hello, Miss Swan? This is Joanne from the Post, we spoke a couple of days ago?" She sounded very chipper on the other line, probably from too much coffee.

"Umm, yes. Hi," I said not sure how to respond to her. I was still thinking back to the day when she approached (or rather, found) me before Edwards race. She had wanted an interview...that's probably what she was calling about. It was way to early in the morning to have to deal with this woman.

"Well, I was wondering if you had given any more thought to our interview? Because, I would love to meet with you today." I guess she had already penciled me in for today, before I even agreed.

"I do have to work today." I haven't know this woman long, but I had a feeling she would probably just show up at the pool today, pen in hand, ready to take down everything that I did.

"That's fine, I have already talked to your boss; he's agreed to give you the morning off." It looks like she had given this interview much more thought than I had. She went to my boss? I still found it hard to keep up with everything she was saying, being half asleep and all.

"Yeah, sure. That's fine," I told her, not really caring anymore. Edward had told me that it was up to me what I shared with her and what I didn't. I might as well just get this over with, because I knew there would be no escaping her.

"Super!" Ugh, that high pitched voice, like nails on a chalkboard to me. "I'll even come to you Bella." So apparently I wasn't hiding my reluctance to doing this interview. "How about I'll meet you in the lobby of your hotel in about an hour?"

"Ok, thanks." I decided I should probably be polite to her, considering how many people would read the article that she was writing about me. She could write me off as a total bitch if she wanted to. I snapped my phone shut before I could even hear her reply and threw my phone on the other side of the bed.

Of course, I couldn't fall asleep. The thoughts of Joanne and the interview I had to go do keep running through my head. What would she ask? How deep into my personal life would she divulge? I hope I knew where to draw the line. After twenty minutes of just laying there, praying that sleep would come, I threw the covers off of myself and made my way to the bathroom. The steaming hot water helped to calm my nerves a bit, but that would work for long.

After I changed, I decided I should go see Edward, to let him know what was going on today. We probably would be talking mostly about him, so it was only fair right? Would people really even want to read about me? The whole thing just seemed very strange. I knocked couple of times on Edward's door before he answered.

"Good morning," he said as he bent down to kiss me. He tasted like mint this morning. Very, very tasty.

"Hi, did you sleep well?" I asked him as we walked into the kitchen.

"Not nearly as well as last night. It's hard for me to sleep without you there," he said taking my hand. Oh, Edward. I'm sure we can fix that, really I don't mind...

"I'll stay with you tonight, how about that?" To wake up every morning like I did yesterday, and to know that he enjoyed it just as much as I did, was music to my ears.

"Aw, thanks, Bella." He kissed me again, proceeding to wrap his arms tightly around me, pressing me against his chest. Why did I come up here again...?

I pulled away, knowing that I had to get down to the lobby soon. I would have much rather stayed exactly like this for the rest of the day, but Joanne would probably come break down Edward's door or something. "So that reporter I told you about called me this morning."

"Really?" he asked, setting me down. He walked across the kitchen and was looking through it for something.

"Yeah, she want's to do that interview with me today. She even called my boss to get me the morning off," I said in shock, shaking my head. He found what he was looking for. A takeout box of some kind.

"Oh, it won't be that bad. You have the morning off, and you'll probably will be talking about me the whole time, you'll like that," he said with a chuckle, as he stuck the box in the microwave and punched a few buttons. I had thought the same thing...we both knew it was all about him.

"Very funny," I said sarcastically. "I'm really not looking forward to reading about myself in the newspaper." He laughed.

"How do you think I feel? For the past two weeks, it seems like the whole paper has been about me," he said trying to sound indifferent.

"But you don't even read the newspaper," I pointed out to him.

"Exactly." He grinned, as the bell on the microwave went off. He pulled it out and came to sit next to me one on of the stools against the counter. "Really, it will be over before you know it." I threw a quick look at my watch.

"Ugh, I guess I have to go now," I said, standing up, for the first time noticing what he was eating. Pasta, for breakfast, I shouldn't be surprised. I looked at him skeptically.

"What?" he asked, twirling the pasta around his fork. "I got a long race today, I need my energy." Yeah, that seemed to make sense.

"Well, enjoy your food. I'll see you later, at the pool," I told him as I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, good luck!" he called as I walked back towards the door. I walked really slowly as I made my way to the lobby, as if somehow that would put off the inevitable. Wow, I was really acting like a child about this. I just didn't like talking about myself or being the center of attention. I made me very uncomfortable.

The cool air of the lobby greeted me as the elevator doors swung open. I walked toward the middle of the large room, hoping that she would find me, rather than the other way around. I was almost expecting it when she tapped on my shoulder. She had on the same outfit that she was wearing when we first met, well, maybe a different shirt.

"Hi, Bella, thanks so much for meeting with me today!" I shook her hand, remembering what Edward had told me: It will be over before you know it. I hope he was right...She started walking towards one of the little alcoves that surrounded the lobby. I sat down in one of the plush chairs, while she did the same, across from me.

"So, this will be quick and painless. Everyone is just dying to get to know this young woman that had captured Edward Cullens special attention!" Um, I really doubted that. And by 'everyone' she means: her and her editor, who assigned her to get the scoop on me. And, c'mon, special attention? Who talks like that, really?

"There really isn't that much to tell," I told her, my eyes wandering to the people passing in the lobby.

"Oh, nonsense," she brushed me off, pulling out that same notebook that she had already used to start writing about me a few days earlier. "So, tell me, how long have you and Edward been seeing each other?" she asked, already scribbling away, not even looking up at me. That's Journalism 101 lady, look at the person you're talking to! Gosh.

"Um, well, I guess since about three days before the Opening Ceremony." That was when we had our first date, although, we weren't officially a couple then. She didn't need to know all of that. She continued writing.

"And, how did you to meet?" What a fabulous story it was...(not)

"Well, I met him in the elevator, I knew who he was of course. And, then, later in the day, we ran into each other at the pool. I was there for work, and he asked me out." I couldn't help smiling to my self as I recalled that day. I left out the whole part about me watching in from the stands and then Edward proceeding to carry me down the bleachers.

This went on for another_ half an hour_, all the time, I was thinking, "What more could possibly have to ask?" But, she never failed to disappoint. There was always another question. I edited greatly of course, some things had to stay between Edward and I.

As she was thanking me, Edward walked past us, catching my eye. The look on my face must have said something, for he made his way over to us. He came right up to my side and placed his hand gently on the small of my back, taking my hand in his. Involuntarily, I leaned against his shoulder, Joanne and her interrogation had really tired me out. She was still standing there, gazing at us. Why do I have a feeling that this is going to end up in that article of hers?

"Oh, Mr. Cullen, what a pleasant surprise." I could hear the shakiness in her voice. "I'm Joanne Magness from the Post. Bella was just telling me all about you."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," replied Edward, polite as always. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air.

"Well, thanks again, Bella." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her slip past us and into the lobby. I wrapped my arms around him.

"Oh, thank you, you saved me!" I exclaimed with enthusiasm. He started to rub my back, something that always made me feel better, and he knew it.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad. Hmm, I can't wait to read about us in the paper..." he said, laughing a bit.

"Yeah, you'll have to tell me what she put in there, because I'm not going anywhere near that paper."

"I think you are over reacting a bit," he told me, as his kissed the top of my head. We started to walk out into the lobby.

"Yeah, probably. I don't know..." I trailed off. I mean why did I have to read about me or him? We both knew everything about our relationship, there was no sense in reading about it. That article is for everyone else, not us. He just wanted to know what details of our relationship I had told Joanne. That's it, right?

"So, where were you headed just now?" I asked him, as we walked into our elevator. Oh yes, this was _our _elevator now.

"Oh, I was just going to head down to the pool a bit early," he told me, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, you can still go. I mean I just–" He cut me off before I finished my sentence.

"Bella, don't be silly, it's fine. You just need to change right?"

"Yeah, I won't be two minutes." I pulled out my key and opened the door, holding it open behind me for him. He reclined back on to the bed, looking very relaxed. He closed his eyes and rested his arms behind his head. I couldn't help but just stop and stare at this perfect creature laying out in front of me.

"Bella..." He knew what I was doing; I couldn't seem to hide anything from him.

"Sorry," I said, although, I really wasn't. I grabbed my clothes and quickly jumped into the bathroom to change. Just as I had promised him, we were back in the elevator less than two minutes later.

As, we were walking down the street, I remember that Edward had his longest race today, the 1500 meter freestyle, thirty lengths of the pool. No wonder he was eating so much pasta this morning. It really marveled me how anyone could swim for that long. I really don't know how he, or anyone for that matter, could handle it. And then to have to more races tomorrow on top of that...

While Edward was getting ready for the race, I headed over to the locker rooms, to get things ready for today. The stands were mostly filled at this point, well, they always were when Edward was swimming. I wished him good luck, of course, and went to sit in the stands.

The starting whistle still made me jump a bit, as I watched Edward dive into the still water. Ten long minutes later, there were clear gaps between the swimmers. Some were more than a full length behind Edward. Oh, yeah, he was in the lead, I didn't think I had to mention that. Obvious.

The last four and a half minutes weren't as exciting as I thought they would be. I mean, Edward was so far in the lead, everyone already knew he was going to win. And, he did. About four and a half minutes later, he head popped up from the water and he pulled of his cap and goggles.

He rested his head against the side of the pool, clearly wiped. I cheered along with the rest of the crowd, as Edward secured his eight gold medal. He threw a glance my way and winked, probably too tired to even acknowledge the crowd.

**Did we all see Michael Phelps on SNL last night?? hehehe.**

**Ok, thoughts?? Please review!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Wow, what an experience this has been. My first finished story. I'm very proud of myself. **

**Thanks to everyone who had reviewed!! It means so much to me!!**

**And a special thanks to _Lion says_ _Rawr_, who gave me the nicest review ever, one that I probably wasn't deserving of.**

An hour later, after all of the excitement had settled down, I found Edward in the back of the locker room. That's odd...I walked over to him, and sat down, placing my hand lightly on his leg. "Hey, are you ok?" I asked him.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just tired, " he said laughing. He probably realized how strange it was for him to be sitting back here all by himself, well not anymore...I rested my head against his shoulder, it just such a nice shoulder, very comfy.

"Just one more day, right? Then you'll be all done," I said, sighing. He wrapped his arm around me, securing me against him.

"I am looking forward to it. This past week has probably been the best of my life, but still, it will be nice to get back to some sort of normalcy. I probably won't do anything for the next few weeks, it will be very nice to just relax," he told me smiling at the thought.

"Yep, and I'll be going back to school...Are you still sure about moving here?"

"Yes! Of course! You're so silly, I wouldn't change my mind. Besides, I was thinking about going back to school too. I never did finish college back home before I had to start training," he said looking down at me, maybe gaging my reaction.

"Really? That sounds like a great idea, Edward." He kissed the top of my head. "I can't even imagine what people will say when they find out that Edward Cullen is coming to there school." I expect screaming girls, some staring, definitely a lot of giggling. Hell, I might even join them.

"Good. I look forward to it. Granted, I never was a very good student..."

"Aw, don't worry," I said, looking up at him. "With me around, you'll pass all of your classes." I changed the subject, all the while thrilled at the thought of Edward going to school with me. It certainly will have everyone talking... "So are you going to head back to the hotel?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'll probably sleep for awhile. Just come on up to my room when you get off work, ok?" He is always so sweet to me, I really didn't think they made guys like this anymore. He was always thinking about my well being, never thinking about himself; I don't think I've heard him complain once. Well, except for those nasty reporters. But, really, who likes them?

"Yeah, that sounds great, thanks Edward. C'mon, I'll walk you out. Protect you from all those mad screaming teenage girls," I joked. He grabbed his things and stood up.

"Oh, thank you," he said sarcastically. "I think I had one of them try to kiss me the other day." He face was pained, poor thing. Crazed, teenage girls can be a horror. We walked out of the locker room, hand in hand, constantly having to duck around people. The whole place was very crowded, since there were a few more women's races this afternoon. I kissed him goodbye, and then watched him walk out onto the busy streets of D.C.

Work was dull without Edward around, that goes with out saying. In fact, if it wasn't for Edward, this whole week probably would have been really crappy. The whole thing still felt like some sort of dream. It was like the universe had thrown us together that day, just one short week ago. It was amazing how far our relationship had progressed in that time. He was staying here in D.C. for me, which said a lot. They always say actions speak louder than words...His actions have definitely said something.

I had promised Edward this morning that I would stay with him tonight, a promise that I had no problem keeping. When I got off work I grabbed some things from my room, so I would be prepared; unlike the last time. As I was walking up to Edwards room, I started to think about that article about us that would be in the Post soon. She never did tell me when it would run...Although, I had a feeling that it would be tomorrow, since that was the last day that Edward would be racing.

Not wanting to wake Edward if he was sleeping, I let my self into his room. The door was unlocked, almost as if he was expecting me. That, or, Edward was just careless when it came to locks. One of the two. I quickly glanced across the living room and kitchen to find Edward no where in sight.

I walked down hallway to his bedroom, and carefully opened the door, which was ajar. There I found him, asleep in his bed, his back towards me. I made my way across the room to close the shades, so the setting sun wouldn't wake him. Kneeling down beside the bed, I brushed the hair out of his face. Once again, I was struck by his perfection. I probably would never get used to it. He looked so calm, his breathing steady, as he clung to the sheet that was pulled up to his neck. He needed the sleep, desperately, I knew. As quietly as I could, I walked back out into the kitchen to make dinner.

Now it was my turn to cook for him. I looked around in the refrigerator and cabinets to see what I could find. They were pretty well stocked, considering Edward seemed more like a take out kind of guy. Eyeing some chicken in the back of the refrigerator, I knew what I wanted to make, chicken parmesan. Well, it was pretty much the only thing I could make, besides grilled cheese. I grabbed some eggs to before shutting the door.

I had no idea how long Edward had been sleeping, but I started cooking anyway, figuring I could just keep the chicken warm in the oven. After the chicken started took cook, I went over a switched the T.V. on, the place was just too quite, it started to creep in out. Just then, Edward came down the hall, rubbing his eyes, his hair messier than ever.

"I'm sorry, I didn't wake you did I?" I asked, as a walked over to him. He started to shake his head.

"No, no, don't worry about it. I've been sleeping for a few hours anyway," he said, looking out onto the now darkening skyline. He looked over to the kitchen, and sniffed the air. "Are you cooking for me?" he asked with a little too much excitement. I rolled my eyes, knowing he was joking. "It smells great."

"Here, come sit down, it will be ready soon." He did as I told, sitting down and leaning his arms on the counter. I dished our food out, and set the plate in front of him. When I took my seat, he kissed me, very sweetly.

"Thank you," he said before giving me another quick kiss. After I started breathing again, I started to eat, not realizing before how hungry I was.

After watching a bad movie when we were done with dinner, we heading to bed. When I went into the bathroom, I found a folded shirt of his and pair of boxers. Was this him telling me he wanted to wear his clothes? He did mention the other day how much he liked to see me in them...fine by me. The clothes smelled like him, which made me want to hurry up so I could go smell the real thing. That probably sounds weird...but really, Edward is intoxicating.

Much like the other night, I fell asleep against his chest, using it as my own personal pillow. I hoped things would stay like this after we went back to our normal lives. Just...perfect like this. For me, falling asleep with him, waking up to him in the morning, it was perfection.

The next morning, I felt his finger against my cheek, I couldn't stop my self from smiling. "Good morning," his whispered before kissing me softly.

"Morning, how long have you been up?" I asked him.

"Not long, don't worry. But we do have to get up soon, I have an early race today," he said looking at the clock. Oh, that's right. His last two races were practically back to back today. We both rolled out of bed today and went into the kitchen. Edward suddenly stopped, throwing a glace my way.

"What is it?" He didn't say anything. Smiling, he made his way to the door, picking something up off the floor. When he started to walk back towards me, I saw what was in his hands. "Oh, no."

"Who is Edward Cullen's mystery girl? Page five," he announced, reading off of the front of the paper. We sat down at the counter as he flipped through the pages. He seemed to find this whole thing very amusing.

"Um, I think I'm going to get something to eat," I said going over to the cabinets. We both knew that was code for: "I really don't want to read that article." I found some cereal and poured it into a bowl, watching Edwards face the whole time, wanting to see what his reaction was. I stood there across from him, until he shut the paper.

"So, how was it?" I asked him. He seemed indifferent.

"Nothing special. Didn't tell me anything I don't already know. I don't really like her style of writing though..." He trailed of, looking at the rest of the headlines on the paper. "Ok, I'm going to go change, so we can head down alright?"

"Yeah, sure," I said sighing, as he walked back into the bedroom. My curiosity finally took hold of me when he shut the door. It was too hard to stay away when the paper was just sitting there, on the counter, mocking me. I quickly flipped to page five. The first thing I saw was a giant picture of Edward and I, practically taking up the whole page. It was taken right before one of his races, when we were talking in front of the pool. I began to skim the article.

_Bella Swan, the whole world seems to know who she is by now, for she has captured the special attention of Olympic swimmer Edward Cullen._ I stopped there. Most of the article were just my exact quotes, she didn't go to much into detail about what kind of vibes I was giving off, like some writers do. I looked down to the end of the article, where one sentence caught my eye. _I would not be surprised if we saw Edward Cullen back in four years, fighting for more gold medals, with Miss Swan right by his side. _Wow, that certainly was taking a giant leap into the future. I wonder what Edward had thought about that...

"See, some how I knew you would want to read it." I spun around, to see Edward leaning up against the wall. I set the paper down, and walked into the bedroom to get changed. He knew. Drat.

A few minutes later, and we were walking down the street to the pool, I had to ask him about that last line. "Like I said, it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know," he replied, bringing my hand up to kiss it. So now I knew, Edward still planned to be with me in four years time. I wanted him longer than four years. I've only know him for a week, but I already know that I want him, to be his, for life.

He swung the door open for we as we headed inside, for probably the last time. I sat in the front with him while he got ready, wanting to be here since this the end for him (well, at least for these Olympics). This race was a short one, only 100 meters. Practically nothing compared to yesterday. He pulled me in for a hug, and I held on tightly, wanting him to know I was there for him. I buried my head in the crook of his neck, giving him a kiss there.

He pulled away. "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked him.

"For being here for me." He could definitely read my mind. I'm sure of it. My heart swelled with emotion, varying from sadness to pure excitement. I took his face in my hands a kissed him eagerly, until I needed air. "I'm always going to be here for you, I hope you know that." I told him seriously. He was kissing the top of my head when I heard a whistle blow. Time for gold medal number nine I thought. He let me go, and I staying close by, since the race was so short. I listened to the announcer, since it was so hard to see who was winning from where I was standing. Edward was leading, with a few other swimmers right there with him. But, much to no ones surprise, Edwards name flashed up onto the screen seconds later.

When he got out of the pool, I was greeted with another bone crushing (but Edward would never hurt me...) hug, before Edward had to go get ready for his last race, which was just fifteen minutes away. I spent most of those fifteen minutes trying to explain to some French guy (whose English was very, very minimal) how to get to the soccer stadium. Edward came back out, with a scowl on his face; he looked pretty happy when I left him. I made my way past a whole crowd of people to get to him.

"Edward, what's wrong?" He looked over my shoulder, where I saw the problem. It was Mike, probably Edwards biggest competition at these Games. "Don't let him bother you ok, just forget about it." I said turning back to him. "You're so much better than him, and you now it."

"Yeah, I know. But still...he just really bugs me," he said looking around.

"Please, just be concerned with beating him, ok?" He smiled.

"I think I can do that." Once again, it was my time to stand on the sidelines and watch Edward make history (and beat Mike, which ever is more important). And, he did, just like I had told him to.

I was ecstatic. He had won ten gold medals and captured my heart, all in less than a week. Actually I think he already had it, even that first day in the elevator. I ran over to him, even risking the chance of slipping on the wet ground. His arms were held out for me, and I jumped into them, as I wrapped my legs around his waist.

I pulled back to look into his eyes. "I am _so_ proud of you."

"I couldn't have done any of this without you." Then he kissed me, so passionately that I couldn't even hear the cheering crowd anymore. It was just me and him. Our own private little celebration. We got out of the Aquatic Center as fast as possible, just wanting to spend time together, without the world watching.

We were in the elevator when I finally felt like I could breathe again. His arms were around me, my head resting on his chest. He spoke very softly.

"I love you." I knew it. Ok, fine. Probably the wrong initial first thought. But, really, I didn't feel like he needed to tell me. His actions were enough to show that. Why did I feel like this was the perfect place to say this? In our elevator, where we first met. I smiled.

"I love you too, Edward." He lifted my face up, to kiss me, extremely gently. The elevator doors opened, which made us pull apart.

"So now that I'm done, I'm sure there are some other sports you want to check out in the next week. Judo? Handball? Kayaking?" I groaned. He opened the door to his room (it was locked this time). I knew that everything would be perfect with Edward from here on in. It already was. And to think, just last week , I seemed to be all alone in the world. One elevator ride changed all of that...

"Sailing? Oh, how about rowing?"

**The End.**

**I might write an epilouge, but I'm not sure yet. **

**Please review! Let me know you're out there! **


	15. Sequel!

**Hey everyone! So sorry for the wait!**

**I have decided I will be writing a sequel! Yay.**

**The first chapter will be up sometime tonight. So, keep an eye out for it. **

**Thanks to everyone for their suppot of this story!!**

**Lenore**


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